


Christmas with BTS and EXO

by jongdaed



Category: EXO (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Angst, Boyfriend!Jungkook, Boyfriend!Sehun, Christmas!, Drabbles, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, babysitters!yoonmin, best friend turned boyfriend!chanyeol, boyfriend!baekhyun, boyfriend!jin, boyfriend!jongdae ft stressed you studying for finals, boyfriend!jongin, boyfriend!luhan, boyfriend!namjoon, boyfriend!suho, boyfriend!tao, but they facetime each other regularly, husband!kris, husband!kyungsoo, i guess, jin studies overseas and namjoon is in korea, kids!taekook ft seokjin, lots of fluff, major character death in kyungsoo's drabble please do not read if you are triggered by it, neighbour!jimin, soulmate!taehyung, starbucks barista!yoongi, stranger!minseok ft drunk you who's just broken up with your boyfriend of many years, stranger/neighbour!hoseok, who is also dancer!jongin and gets the chance to go to juilliard, yes i did a soulmate au with taehyung, yoonseok learn how to bake
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-01
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-03 12:52:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 28,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8714668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jongdaed/pseuds/jongdaed
Summary: hello! it's 1 december now, and i'm planning to upload a drabble every day until christmas. i got prompts from here: http://preciousghoul.tumblr.com/post/136752627503/send-me-a-pairing-a-numberit'll be starting with jin x oc (you), and the next day will be someone from exo x you and then it the day after will be someone from bts x you and so on. this means that none of the chapters are related to each other.since there are only seven members in bangtan, i'll probably be writing for ships like taekook, yoonmin etc after i'm done with their individual drabbles. on christmas day, i'll be posting two different chapters - one about christmas with bts and the other with exo.i think i made this sound more complicated than it actually is, but the other alternative was to post each work one by one and make them into a series, which i didn't really want to do. i should probably stop typing now since i don't even know if anyone's reading this.one last thing though, the tags will be updated as i post more chapters, so by the end of this it'll probably be really long.i hope you guys like reading this, i'm having fun writing these :-)





	1. one - seokjin

**“we’re made for each other”**

 

* * *

 

The winter wind is dry and chilling, but you like it all the same. You love winter, the cold, snow and the promise of Christmas soon. But more than that, you love how everyone seems to become a little more affectionate during the long, chilly days of winter, and if given the chance, you'd stay in the park people-watching all day, looking at couples both old and young walking around with flushed cheeks and slight smiles on their faces as they look at the snow covering almost everywhere.

 

You've been sitting on a bench in the park overlooking the now frozen lake for close to two hours, and your butt is getting numb, but you continue to sit there and just observe the view around you. The sun's beginning to set, and the sky is rapidly darkening. Soon after, the lights switch on, and you watch as a young couple walk past you, on their way out of the park. The girl is only at the guy's shoulder, and she walks slower than he does, watching as day becomes night and the breaths she exhales become even more obvious under the lights. Upon noticing that she's walking slower, the guy slows down too and matches their footsteps. As she's distracted by her own breath suspended in the air for a few seconds at a time, he gives her a look full of care. It's a sweet sight, especially when he lifts up a gloved hand to ruffle her hair and bring her attention to him. She looks over, surprised, and her look of curiosity turns into an embarrassed smile as her boyfriend says something to her quietly.

 

The whole scene leaves you feeling fuzzy inside, and you forget about how late it's getting and how you'd planned to leave too as you watch them continue on their walk, backs slowly becoming smaller and smaller the further they get. You focus on their intertwined hands and smile wistfully, letting out a long breath and closing your eyes for a few seconds, enjoying the feeling of the wind on your face.

 

The next time you open your eyes, it's because you felt someone sit down next to you on the bench. Your eyes flutter open quickly, and when you turn to look you're met with a scarf to your face. The sound you make isn't one you're proud of, it's somewhere between a squeak and a "huh?", but it makes the person next to you laugh as he winds the scarf around your neck.

 

"I texted you, but you didn't reply, so I figured you were probably here again." The tone is teasing, but the words are said fondly. You give an apologetic smile to Seokjin as you shift closer to him, leaning against him and sighing as you feel the warmth from him. "I'm sorry, I didn't check my phone. You know I won't be anywhere else though," and Seokjin puts his arm around your shoulder as he hums in acknowledgment. "I bought a hot chocolate for you, and it's a good thing I did since you look like you've been here for at least an hour already." You accept it gratefully, and as you sip it you're aware of the comfort you feel both in your heart and physically, next to Seokjin.

 

"Thanks, you're the best boyfriend I can ask for," you say as you glance up at him, blinking in what you hoped was a cute way. Seokjin merely laughs and takes your cool hand in his, a small smile appearing on his face as he looks at how they fit together nicely. "What can I say? We're made for each other."


	2. two - chanyeol

 

**“wait what did you just say you love me?”**

 

* * *

 

The moment you stepped into the house, you began to run towards your room, stopping only to yell a "I'm home!" to your mother before you went up the stairs. Throwing open the door of your room, you let out a long, loud sigh as you immediately made a beeline for your bed and flopped down on it. School had been tiring, and all you wanted was to just rest for a bit and escape from the chaotic day you'd had. The only comfort you had was that Christmas vacation had just begun, since today was the last day of school, and you didn't have to go back for a while. Of course, you had another comfort, and that was your bed. But no sooner had you fallen onto the bed than you jumped up again, after hearing a muffled yelp from under the blanket.

 

 

 

Narrowing your eyes at the suspicious lump under your covers that you hadn't noticed when you'd first entered the room, you reached over and ripped the blanket off it, revealing Park Chanyeol looking sheepishly up at you, hair a mess and hugging your bolster _and_ your Hello Kitty plushie. You weren't at all surprised to see him there, after all he lived just across the street and ever since young he'd loved to sleep on your bed, however you were cranky and wanted to have a good rest, which he was getting in the way of, so you picked up a pillow and began to hit him with it.

 

 

 

"Why are you in my bed at this time? Did you fall asleep here again? Get off, I want to sleep!" Your rant had started off angry, but at the end of it your voice took on a whiny tone, and Chanyeol didn't miss it. Instead of politely getting out of your bed (and preferably out of the room), he laughed and made himself even more comfortable. "School ended early for me, and yeah I did fall asleep, since this bed is so comfy.... I feel like sleeping again......" He pretended to fall asleep again, even adding in some snores for effect, and despite your irritation you couldn't help but smile at him. "Stop being stupid and either get out or move over." 

 

 

 

He grumbled at having to move, but eventually wriggled over to one side of the bed so you could get in the other side, and after you were snuggled under the blanket you made sure to 'accidentally' elbow him a few times as you snatched your bolster and Hello Kitty plushie back. Chanyeol let out a groan of pain as you elbowed him in the gut, and lay there pathetically with puppy dog eyes, silently begging you to let him have something to hug. You rolled your eyes at his childishness, but still shoved your plushie at him, which he accepted happily.

 

 

 

When both of you were comfortable, you found that you were too awake to fall asleep, so you decided to talk. "Why did you come over?" Chanyeol sounded hurt, "Am I not allowed to come over to the house of my best friend of many years?" You turned your head to look at him, and saw him giggling quietly after saying that, which earned him another elbow to the gut. After he caught his breath again, he finally answered, "Your mom invited me to dinner when she saw me coming home from school. She said that she hadn't seen me around in a while." You rolled your eyes at this, Chanyeol came over at least once a week, even if he had to come up with strange reasons to. "And why were you in my bed?" Chanyeol has the decency to look somewhat embarrassed at this, "When I came over your school hadn't ended yet, so I decided to come up here and wait for you to surprise you, but I fell asleep instead. Sorry...?"

 

 

 

You laughed a little at this. "It's not like it's the first time anyway, and you nearly got squashed so it's fine." Chanyeol laughs it off too, and then there's silence in the room again. It's a comfortable silence though, one that comes after knowing someone for so many years that there's no need to speak just so it won't be awkward. After a couple of minutes, your breathing evens as you drop off into a light sleep, and Chanyeol's left awake.

 

 

 

Looking at you sleep peacefully just a short distance away, Chanyeol feels at ease too, and though he feels kind of like a creep observing you while you're asleep, he allows himself to just stare at you for a while. As he looks at your face, he realises that there are a few strands of hair across your face, and without realising it his hand is gently shifting them away from your face. His breath catches for a bit as he sees what he's doing, before he drops his hand down onto the pillow in between the both of you. As seconds pass and you don't show signs of being woken up by his actions, he cautiously lifts his hand up again, and pats your head softly. A smile tugs at the edges of his mouth as he notices you frowning slightly, and he mumbles quietly, "Sleep well. I love you."

 

 

 

He didn't get the chance to move his hand away when your eyes shot open, and you said, "Wait. What? Did you just say you love me?"

 

 

 

The panic set in right after he heard your words, and he jerked into a sitting position, eyes wide as he stared down at you. "You weren't asleep?!" You frowned as you replied, "I was half asleep, until I heard you speak." You can see the shock in Chanyeol's eyes, and you motion for him to lie back down again, which he does very reluctantly. Desperately trying to play it off, he laughs nervously as he says, "It was nothing... Haha... I was just joking around...." You laugh at this and he looks almost tortured, until you shift yourself closer to him and rest your head next to his chest, where you can hear his erratic heartbeat.

 

 

 

He's confused by your actions, and his voice sounds strained as he tries to speak casually. "What are you doing?" You shush him as you close your eyes and try to fall asleep again, but he won't let you sleep until you say something, so you snap at him, "I love you too, all right? Now shut up and let me sleep." The words were said bitingly, but with no real trace of venom in it.

 

 

 

He does shut up after hearing that, and you drift off into sleep again, missing the huge, goofy grin he has on his face as he looks at you curled up against him.


	3. three - yoongi

**“i’m sorry, but who are you?”**

 

* * *

 

It was one of your favourite times of the year - the weeks leading up to Christmas. Everywhere was decorated prettily, hot chocolate could be found in every cafe, and the gloom of winter didn't stop people from going out dressed nicely (but also warmly) to shop. But every Christmastime, there was something that happened which you'd rather not have to go through - a whole lot of blind dates that your relatives set you up with.

"Do I really have to go for them again this year? I thought we agreed that if none of the guys I met last year worked out that'd be the end of it!" You grumbled to your mother, as you sat in the kitchen snacking and watching her begin preparations for dinner. Her back was to you, but you heard her sigh clearly. "I know, but your aunt says that she thinks her friend's son will be The One this time. Apparently he's from Harvard or something like that. Just humour her, if you don't she won't stop talking about it when she comes over for our Christmas party."

  
Seeing no way to avoid this situation besides to just grit your teeth and get it over with, you get up and throw your Oreo wrapper away, heading to your bedroom to get ready.

* * *

 

Nearly an hour later, you're all ready to go out, even though you don't feel like it. Shrugging on your coat and putting your boots on, you half-heartedly yell an "I'm leaving now" to your mother as you step out of the house and head towards the Starbucks your aunt had arranged for you to meet your newest date at.

Reaching there fifteen minutes early, you decide to buy your drink first and sit down while waiting, and you walk over to the counter without hesitation, already knowing what you want to order. "One peppermint mocha please. I'm having it here." The barista nods, and punches your order into the cash register. As you wait for him to pass you your receipt, you notice that his hair is dyed a shade of mint green that you've always wanted to try to pull off but never dared to. To make light conversation, you tell him that, and you're shocked when he looks up with a grin that might just be sweeter than the most sugary drink they serve here. You don't get to say much more to him though, as there's a queue forming behind you and he passes you the receipt after thanking you for the compliment of sorts. You do manage to glance at his nametag, which informs you that his name is Suga.

After you collect your drink, you sit by the armchairs next to the window, and less than ten minutes later your date arrives. All goes well, he's polite and kind of shy, but in an endearing way. When he puts his hand on the table and it accidentally touches yours, he immediately jerks his hand away, stuttering out an apology. You laugh and brush it off, and continue with the story you were telling him.

You're half considering suggesting a second date with him, when his phone suddenly rings. Both your gazes fall on the phone, which shows the name _Sana ♡_. He shoots you an apologetic look as he picks up the call, and a shrill voice can be heard on the other end, demanding to know where oppa is and why he's been ignoring her texts. You can see the panic in his eyes as he tries to placate her, and after a tense few minutes, he finally hangs up.

"I'm sorry about that, it's just... I don't know what to do about her. I don't like her in that way, you know? And I've tried to tell her, but she doesn't care and she keeps claiming that we're a couple and I can date other girls as long as I still stay with her at the end of the day." He looks vaguely traumatized, and you're slightly in shock, not sure what to say to this bizarre situation. If you're completely honest, it's kind of making you uncomfortable, mostly because you'd never gone on one of these blind dates with a guy who had some sort of obsessed fangirl. Taking a deep breath, you glance around the Starbucks, hoping that someone will save you from having to deal with this, and you make eye contact with the barista from earlier.

He's not in his apron and uniform anymore, and he's got a pair of headphones around his neck as he walks out of the Employees Only door. There's a look of concern in his eyes as he takes in your obvious discomfort, and he strides over to your table.

"Hey, honey, sorry to keep you waiting for so long." His voice sounds strange, and the expression on his face is strange too, he's glaring at the poor guy sitting opposite you for one second and gazing at you almost... tenderly? the next. The atmosphere at the table becomes even more awkward and stifling than it already was, and it's only broken when your date asks, "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

The barista freezes for a couple of seconds at the question, but recovers quickly and forces a smile onto his face as he leans down to sling an arm around your shoulder. "I'm... her boyfriend! Ha ha.... she's angry at me for not spending enough time with her so she wants us to break up, but she knows that if she does that she'll break my heart... Ha.." Both of you are now staring at him incredulously, and the date clears his throat before saying, "Well then, I'll leave both of you to it?" And he really does leave the both of you, quickly picking up his bag from the floor and nearly running out of the Starbucks, causing a few people to stare at him.

With the seat opposite you now vacated, the barista walks over to it and drops down into it, letting out a loud sigh. "That was embarrassing." Still processing what had just happened, you could only nod. Both of you looked at each other for a long moment before the hilarity of the situation hit you and soon enough, you were laughing along with him.

After both of you had calmed down, you decided to start a conversation with him. "So, Suga? Uh, why did you come over like that?" It wasn't the best conversation starter, but you weren't known for being articulate at the best times, and Suga answered you anyway. "You looked like you needed help," he shrugs, and his voice becomes softer and lower as he adds on, "and I remembered you said you liked my hair." A slight blush appeared, and you were flustered. "Oh, I did! Maybe it's good karma." You blurt out the first thing that comes to mind, and instantly regret it. Who talks about karma two sentences into a conversation? Now Suga isn't the only one blushing.

Just as you're considering running out of the Starbucks too, Suga laughs. It's strangely soothing, but you're even more surprised when he remarks, "You're cute." When you glance up at him, he sticks a hand out. "My real name's Yoongi. Suga's just a nickname I have."

And there in Starbucks with a peppermint mocha that's half drunk and a nearly untouched toffee nut latte, you feel something sweeter than both drinks start to grow in your heart.

* * *

 

Your aunt's disappointed when she hears how the blind date went, but not after the Christmas party, where she meets Yoongi and is completely charmed by him in a matter of minutes. "What a talented boy! He can play the piano and rap!" She gushes to you, and you give a sidelong glance to Yoongi, who's currently sprawled on the sofa napping. "Yeah.. he is..." As though he can feel you looking at him, he suddenly opens his eyes and when he meets eyes with you, he lazily grins, showing you a gummy smile. As cliche as it sounds, your heart skips a beat, and you quickly look away from him, returning your focus to the conversation you're having.

Later, when both of you leave the party (it was at your aunt's house) and you're walking towards your house, Yoongi speaks. "So you think I'm talented?" You look over sharply at him to see a teasing grin directed at you. "No, that was my aunt." "Didn't you agree with her though?" Unable to argue with that, you walk a little faster, hoping the wind will cool your cheeks so he won't see your blush. But he catches up to you in a few strides, and grabs your hand, taking you by surprise.

"You're cute like this." The statement makes you stop in your tracks, and Yoongi's forced to stop walking too. "I'm not..." You mumble, staring at your boots, the blush on your cheeks even more evident. At this sight, Yoongi gives you another of his gummy smiles, using your hand to pull you closer as he presses a kiss against your forehead. "You are. Now let's get you home before you freeze, your hand feels like an ice block."


	4. four - luhan

**“dating advice #1: you don’t look at anyone other than me”**

 

* * *

 

 

It was December 20th, the date of your first anniversary with your boyfriend Luhan. Both of you had arranged to meet at a restaurant for dinner to celebrate, and you'd spent the past hour getting ready for it.

Before you left, you made sure that you brought your present along, gloves and a beanie because Luhan always got cold easily, even though he'd deny it. Checking your phone for any texts, you saw one from Luhan, which simply said _Can't wait to see you later._ You reply with a smiley as you pick up your bag and leave the house.

  
As you walk leisurely towards the restaurant (it's only a short 10 minute walk), you find your mind drifting to thoughts of the past. The street you were on was filled with memories, from the postbox where you'd first met Luhan - you had been rushing somewhere, and he was walking in front of you but suddenly stopped to drop a letter into the postbox, and you'd bumped into him. Thankfully, neither of you were hurt but it was still embarrassing. That had been nearly one and a half years ago...

 

And now you were walking past the mall, where you'd met up with him many times in, even before you were dating. Both of you had similar taste in clothes and books, so it was common for one of you to invite the other out to shop. It had been in a cafe inside where Luhan asked you to be his girlfriend. It was cute; the whole day he'd been polite, even more so than usual, and he offered to buy you a drink. When he brought it over to the table, setting it down gently, you spied a small box in his shirt pocket. Pointing it out, you asked him what it was curiously, and his eyes widened for a split second before he sat down opposite you and took it out. Scratching his head and giving you a shy smile, he slid it over the table to you, and when you picked it up and opened it you discovered a necklace inside.

 

Luhan's ears were red, and he stammered out, "I really, uh, like you, and this wasn't very expensive... because I couldn't afford anything too expensive - but if I could I would've bought it for you!" Listening to his words, you felt a smile creep over your face. He continued speaking, "This isn't much, but I wanted you to know how I feel." Taking the necklace out of the box, you asked him, "Aren't you going to ask me to be your girlfriend?" Instinctively standing up to help you put the necklace on, he retorted, "Well, I had to see if you were going to accept my gift first!" You had laughed, and that marked the beginning of your relationship with Luhan.

* * *

 A smile had appeared on your face as you were reliving these memories, and before you knew it you were outside the restaurant. Luhan was standing just a bit away from you, dressed nicely in a button up shirt and formal pants, and he was holding a bouquet of roses in one hand. As cheesy as it was, you felt your smile grow even wider, and you walked over to Luhan to hug him. "Hello, happy anniversary," you said, your words somewhat muffled since your face was against his coat, but he heard what you said all the same, and wished you a happy anniversary with a soft smile on his face.

Raising an eyebrow at the roses, you joked, "Those are nice, who are they for?" Luhan replied without missing a beat, "They're for my girlfriend, I don't see her around though." He pretended to look around, putting a hand above his eyes. You laughed at his antics, and he looked at you again. "Oh! She's down here, I couldn't see her at first." He handed you the roses as you smacked his arm playfully, and you counted nine of them. "What does nine roses mean?" You asked him, watching as his ears slowly began to turn red and he looked away from you. "Uh.. The woman at the shop said... Eternal love?" He speaks quietly, but you catch the words and feel a warmth in your heart.

"Thank you, they're pretty. Should we go in?" Looking relieved that he's being spared any more embarrassment, Luhan leads the way into the restaurant. It's a fancy place, wine can be seen on almost every table and everyone's dressed at least semi-formally, and you're glad you wore one of your nicer dresses out. As you take your seats, a waiter approaches your table to hand both of you the menus. When he stops next to you, he does a double take, and when you look up, you recognise who the waiter is. "Taecyeon! I haven't seen you in a while, how've you been?" You begin to make small talk, only interrupted after a few minutes by Luhan clearing his throat. Both of you look at him, and he gives Taecyeon his order. Taecyeon then takes your order, and wishes you a pleasant evening before leaving.

When you turn your attention back to Luhan, you find him staring at you. "Why're you staring at me? Am I too pretty?" Luhan laughs a bit at this, but then turns serious. "I think I should give you some dating advice. Dating advice #1 with Luhan is not to look at anyone besides me." You look at him for a few seconds before you burst out in laughter. "I am only looking at you!" Luhan pouts, "You were talking to the waiter for so long and I heard you call him handsome! Who's your boyfriend?" You grin at him, "You are, but when you try to act tough like that it just makes me want to laugh at you. Why are you even giving me dating advice now anyway? We've been together for a year!" Luhan couldn't help but look embarrassed again, "I had to make sure you only look at me! I can't have you ignoring me and only talking to the waiter on our date celebrating our first anniversary."

You figure that now's as good a time as any to give him his present, and you take the gloves and beanie out and hand them to Luhan. "There, I've gotten these for you since you always get cold easily but you keep forgetting to buy these to keep yourself warm and you don't want to admit it. Who else do I look at so often to be able to notice things like this?" Luhan looks surprised, and he turns to rummage through his bag before taking out a carefully wrapped package. He passes it to you, and you open it after he urges you to. There in the package are similar looking gloves... and a beanie. "I didn't know what to get you, but I thought these would be useful." Both of you start laughing and you lean over the table to ruffle his hair affectionately, despite complaints from him. "Thank you, I'll use them well."

The dinner goes smoothly after that, and you're so full you think you might burst after it's done. You tell that to Luhan, and he smirks at you. "That's because you ate all your chicken and a bit of mine." You huff at this, but you can't argue with it. "I'm going to get fat from all the eating I've been doing, I should exercise more." Luhan rolls his eyes at you, "Your metabolism is so fast you won't get fat even if you eat all of your chicken and mine." You give a short laugh at this, and then you get distracted by the snow that's begun to fall again.

"Look!" You point at the dark sky, but when you turn to Luhan you find him looking at you instead. Lifting a hand, he touches your cheek and your breath catches. Then he moves it and brushes the snow off your face, before pulling you into a hug. "Thank you for today. I love you." You smile into his coat, "Thank you too, I love you more."


	5. five - jungkook

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please do not read this if you're triggered by mentions of drowning and hospitals.

**“didn’t you hear me the first time?”**

 

* * *

You're sitting on the beach. Well, to be more accurate, you're sitting on a blanket on the beach. The wind is strong and bitterly cold, seeing how it's the dead of winter. You're cold, but not so cold that you can't take it. Looking around you, you inhale the frosty air and soak up the calm that surrounds you.

 

Everything is still, except for the wind and the waves. The sky is entirely dark since it's 10 p.m, and the tide is slowly getting lower and lower, but because of the wind the strength at which the waves are hitting the shore cause reverberations. It's soothing and reminds you of a white noise machine, except that this one is live and it sounds more chaotic than the sound of waves from a white noise machine would. You wouldn't mind listening to chaos if it sounded like this all the time, though.

 

Thinking like this leads you to remember other sounds of chaos - screaming, someone gasping for air and a constant beeping. You don't know where they're from, but every time you remember them it leaves you feeling disquieted, so you try to think of other things instead.

 

You shift from your sitting position where you were facing the waves, and lie down so you're staring at the stars instead. The sky is surprisingly clear, and you can see plenty of stars in the night sky. It's breathtakingly pretty, you've always loved to be able to see the stars clearly, and it's difficult to when there's so much light pollution in the city. It brings you a sense of peace to just look up and clear your mind of all your thoughts, and that's what you're doing when you hear footsteps approaching. Sitting up a little, you turn to the direction of the footsteps, and a smile appears on your face as you see Jeon Jungkook approaching.

 

"Took you a long time to get here, I texted you nearly an hour ago," you say by way of greeting, as Jungkook makes himself comfortable next to you on the blanket. He replies, "I'd have been faster if I hadn't gotten food because I knew you'd be hungry." As if on cue, you hear your stomach grumble, and when you meet eyes with Jungkook you give him a small smile. "Thank you?"

 

The food he's brought along turns out to be cup noodles, along with two thermos flasks; one with hot water and the other with Milo. It's not the most conventional thing to eat at the beach, but no one's there to judge you and you're hungry, so you quickly pour the hot water on the noodles and use your chopsticks to prod the noodles once every few seconds, impatiently waiting for it to soften. Jungkook laughs when he sees what you're doing, and passes you the cap of the thermos flask with some Milo inside. You sip it, and the heat that warms your body makes the cold wind feel less biting.

 

Both of you have begun eating your noodles when Jungkook asks you, "Why did you come here anyway? I know you like the beach, but it seems like a sudden decision." You shrug, watching the waves crash against the shore as you answer, "I felt like I needed a break. This was a good choice, it's cold but my head feels a lot clearer now." Jungkook looks slightly concerned at this. "If there's anything going on, you know you can always talk to me about it. I'm not your boyfriend just in title." You glance at him, giving him a smile. "I'm fine, really. Thank you for coming over and bringing food though."

 

Later, when you're done with the noodles and there's less than half of the Milo left, you and Jungkook lie back down on the blanket, and he points out some of the constellations he can identify and tells you the myths behind them. "That's Aries. I can't really remember the myth about it, but it was something about a ram whose fleece became the Golden Fleece." "They're all so pretty," you breathe out, looking at the inky purplish-blue of the sky and the blueish glow of the stars. Jungkook sounds thoughtful, "Yeah, they are. It's amazing, how there are so many of them."

 

It's almost the dead of night now, nearing 1 a.m, and you're getting sleepy. Stifling a yawn, you turn towards Jungkook, wanting to ask if he's ready to go, when you realise that he's asleep. You smile at the sight, smoothing tufts of his hair down, and he stirs from this action. When his eyes open, you ask him, "Wanna go?" He answers, "Yeah, just in a while." He sits up, and looks straight into your eyes.

 

You're taken aback, and an uncertain laugh escapes from you. "What are you doing?" He seems to notice how intensely he's staring at you, and leans back a little. "Nothing. It's just... this was really nice, right?" You nod slowly, "It is... it almost feels like a dream."

 

At your words, Jungkook suddenly leans in again, startling you. "What if I told you it was?"

 

Warning bells start to ring in your head, and you furrow your eyebrows. "What?"

 

"Didn't you hear me the first time? This... isn't real. Go back to reality, you can't stay here forever." He gives you a sad smile, and your head begins to hurt as the ringing sound gets even louder. It morphs into the beeping sound you've been hearing on and off recently, and when you try to ask Jungkook what's going on, you find that he's disappeared.

 

In fact, everything's disappeared - Jungkook, the blanket, the whole beach. With this realisation, you notice that you've become icy cold. You're surrounded by the waves, and they're so overwhelming that you're struggling to breathe, let alone keep afloat. Before long, you've given up on fighting the waves, it's useless when it doesn't seem like there's any help nearby and the shore isn't in sight.

 

The chaos raging in your mind is reaching an all time high, and it hurts so badly that as the waves close in over your head, you just close your eyes and wait for whatever comes next.

* * *

What comes next is a blindingly bright light, and it's still a struggle to move, but you note with relief that breathing is easier now. It's surprisingly loud, however, and the beeping sound from before can still be heard. You open your eyes with some difficulty, and find yourself staring at a white ceiling. Moving your gaze around, you see that the walls are white too, and that next to you are a bunch of machines. The reason for your loud breathing is an oxygen mask. You're in a hospital. Feeling confused, you continue looking around, and you see someone sitting on a chair next to your bed, his head on your bed. Without thinking, your hand (with a pulse oximeter on one finger) reaches out and pats his hair. The guy reacts quickly, suddenly sitting up and looking at you in a panic. When you get a look at his face, you find yourself staring at Jungkook.

 

He looks exhausted; eyebags and dark eye rings make him look much older than he actually is, but all signs of exhaustion flee him as he looks at you in disbelief. "You're... really awake?" You nod, and he immediately presses a button on the bed, before standing up and walking right next to your bed, bending down to give you a hug.

 

You can't tell he's crying until he speaks. "I thought... you weren't going to wake up again. Do you know how scared I was?" His voice is thick with emotion, and you detach yourself from the hug and ask him, "You thought I wasn't going to wake up?" Seeing the confusion in your eyes, he then explains.

 

You'd been at the beach one month ago, when the weather had just begun to show hints of chill, and you had gone for a nighttime swim at the beach because that day had been mentally draining for you and you'd wanted to clear your head. You texted Jungkook to ask him along, and when he was taking too long, went ahead to swim first. Jungkook bought food for the both of you, and when he reached the beach nearly an hour later, he was just in time to see you struggling to keep yourself afloat. You'd gotten a cramp, but you were too far out at sea to shout for help, and there was no one else on the beach. Jungkook had gotten you to the hospital barely in time, where you'd remained comatose until now.

 

The doctor checked you over, and after various tests and examinations, it was declared that you were fine but still needed to rest. Jungkook stayed by your bedside almost the entire time, and though you hadn't realised it, it was already Christmas. Both of you celebrated together in the hospital while waiting for the doctor to announce when you could be discharged, and it was a simple celebration, but it was more than enough since you were with Jungkook.

 

As it turned into night, Jungkook climbed into your bed and watched television with you. The nurses going in and out of the room pretended that they didn't see him lying next to you and allowed him to stay there with you. When both of you got tired of watching the television programme, you turned the TV off and looked at him. "I'm glad you're here, thank you for still staying by my side." Jungkook smiles softly at you, "I wouldn't leave you." It's a cheesy thing to say, but you play along instead of cringing like you usually would.

 

The room is silent, and you're getting sleepy. Shifting about under the covers, you instinctively move closer to Jungkook, who wraps you in a hug as you drift off to sleep, feeling secure, as though nothing can separate the two of you again.


	6. six - yifan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm going overseas for the next week or so, and i won't have wifi so i'll be posting the next few drabbles first (until day 9) and from day 10-13 my friend will be helping me to post. i'll be back after that though! :-)

**"stay with me, goddammit!"**

 

* * *

 

 

It's the day before Christmas Eve, and you've just ended the last day of work before the holiday. You're tired, it's been a long day after all, but the thought of seeing your husband and daughter make your footsteps lighter, and when you reach home you feel happy.

"I'm home!" You call out to the silent house, and wait for the sound of your daughter running unsteadily over to you, followed closely by your husband, but you don't hear anything. Finding this weirdly uncharacteristic, you take off your shoes and immediately head towards your daughter's bedroom.

Your daughter, Hana, is barely a year old, and many people have commented that she looks exactly like your husband, Yifan, but he insists that she resembles you too. "She has your eyes!" He said once, and you shot that down after telling him to take a selfie with Hana and compare their eyes.

At this time, Hana's usually awake, however when you stop outside her bedroom, you see that she's fast asleep in her crib, Yifan sitting next to it looking worn out. You step in quietly, and he looks up at you when he notices a shadow fall over him. "Is everything okay?" You ask him softly. You're not expecting him to be angry, so when his eyebrows furrow and he glares at you, you're shocked. "Everything's fine now, but it wasn't just now when she kept crying and asking for her mother but I couldn't get ahold of you."

You'd never heard the sharp tone he used directed at you, and all you could do for a few seconds was just blink at him. "You tried to call me?" He almost rolls his eyes at you, "Almost every minute, but the calls didn't even get through. Were you that busy? Or do you just not care about this family?"

His words are harsh, and you feel hurt and confused, tears springing to your eyes. "I didn't get any calls from you, otherwise I'd definitely have picked them up, or if I missed them I would have called you back! What makes you think that I don't care about this family?"

You're trying to keep your voice low so that you don't wake Hana up, but Yifan doesn't seem very bothered about that, and his voice keeps rising. "How could you not have gotten any calls when I called at least 10 times? And maybe I think that you don't care about this family because you never seem to have time for us! You're always so busy, did you forget that you still have a daughter and husband waiting for you at home?"

By this point, your tears are freely running down your cheeks, and your argument has finally woken Hana up. She scrunches her face up before starting to wail, and Yifan runs a hand through his hair, looking frustrated.

He opens his mouth again, probably to add on something hurtful that he forgot to say before, but before he can speak you turn and leave the room, running to the door of your apartment, grabbing your coat and leaving again.

The door slams shut and Yifan lets out a sigh of frustration, before turning his attention to Hana and trying his best to calm her down again.

* * *

It's bitterly cold outside, the wind whistling in your ears as you run, your feet instinctively leading you to your favourite place in the neighbourhood - a fountain outside the mall.

When you reach the fountain, you sit down next to it, sighing heavily. You look like a mess, your makeup smudged from crying and hair untidy from running, but how you look is the least of your problems now.

You're still trying to process the events that happened just now, and as you sit there and watch the people walking past, it feels like a stab to the heart when you see couples walking together and holding hands, especially when one couple has a daughter around the same age as Hana.

Your tears dry as the sun gradually sets, and when the sky is completely dark you're left staring blankly into space with the dried tear tracks on your face leaving your skin feeling tight. You don't know what to do now, it's getting colder but you can't exactly go home without facing an awkward situation that you'd really rather avoid. You forgot to bring your wallet out too, so getting dinner isn't an option. The only thing you can do is continue to sit there, so that's what you do.

It must've been almost an hour later when you hear the sound of quiet footsteps walking over, soon followed by an all-too-familiar voice shouting "Mama!" By this time, the area is completely empty except for you, everyone else is either relaxing at home or eating dinner. You turn around and see Yifan walking over carrying Hana, and you stay still, unsure how to speak to Yifan.

Hana squirms out of her father's grasp and toddles over to you, sticking her arms out in the air and asking you to carry her instead. You oblige her, and turn back to the direction you were originally facing, your back now towards Yifan. You hear him sigh behind you, and he walks closer, until he's right behind you.

"I'm sorry, what I said just now was too much. It's just that I was stressed because I didn't know how to deal with Hana, and it felt like you'd just... abandoned us or something." At this, your eyes fill with tears again, but you struggle to keep your voice even. "Do you really think that justifies everything you said? You're not the only one who's new to parenting, I've had so many times when I didn't know how to deal with Hana either, but I didn't say hurtful things to you because of that."

Yifan bites his lip after hearing your response, "I know, I don't know what came over me... I won't ever do it again, I promise you." You can hear the sincerity in his words, but you can't help but doubt them. "How can you promise it? What if you get stressed again? I can't handle the pressure I get from work and pressure from you too." Embarrassingly, your voice cracks on the last word and you begin full-on crying.

Both Hana and Yifan are shocked to see you cry, and Hana tries to pat your cheek comfortingly, the gesture bringing a tiny smile to your face despite the circumstances. Yifan moves so that he's sitting next to you, and tries to think of what to say to make things better.

"I'll try my best for you, I'm sorry for making you cry." This doesn't seem to be working, and he's starting to panic, so he ends up blurting out the first thing that comes to mind. "I'm not good with words, and I don't know what to say, but still, please stay with me." His voice unintentionally gets louder at the end of his sentence, and Hana turns to stare at him curiously. He buries his face in his hands, muttering a "Goddammit" quietly into his palms.

You laugh, but the sound is filled with unhappiness. "I wouldn't leave you no matter what. I love you too much." Yifan looks up cautiously and he sees you smiling at him sadly. At this sight, he immediately scoots over even closer to you to draw you into a hug, Hana squished in between the two of you. "I love you too, I'll be better. I'm sorry for making you cry, give me another chance?" You sigh as you look at his sad expression, and tell him, "You know I will."

He visibly brightens at this, and leans over to kiss you on the forehead, kissing Hana too when she uses a hand to touch his face. "Thank you. Let's go home now, you must be cold." The three of you get up and head home, where dinner and a warm atmosphere awaits.

* * *

Later on when Yifan realises that he dialed your old number that you'd been using up till a month ago because he still had it memorized instead of your new number, you smacked him on the head, and Hana, seeing the look of pain on her father's face, found it funny and started to hit him on the head too, leading to Yifan begging for mercy and asking you for a kiss to make it feel better.

The house was back to normal, and you were relieved. All you wanted was for your family to be safe and happy, and even though the argument just now had gotten scarily intense, it had been resolved. You lay in bed waiting to fall asleep, and Yifan, who was already fast asleep, shifted about on the bed and began muttering to himself. You managed to catch certain words and phrases, including your name and "love". You smiled as you closed your eyes, everything was okay now.


	7. seven - namjoon

**“i don’t think i can do this anymore”**

****

* * *

 

 

It's that time of year again. When everyone goes a little more insane, rushing to clear work, buy presents for pretty much all the people you know and sneak in a few dates if you're with someone.

Christmas used to be your favourite holiday, you loved the energy and promise of good things to come that was always in the air, but as the years passed and you grew up, Christmas seemed to lose its allure to you. It was just another reason to meet up with all your extended family and see how they were doing, and get some gifts and money while you were at it. That didn't mean that you hated Christmas, though; you still liked it, just not as much as you used to.

But last year, you found a reason to look forward to Christmas. About 10 months ago, you'd begun to date a guy named Namjoon, and you'd fallen hard for him. He was insanely smart, fluent in three languages, and he could compose and rap. He was polite to all your friends and family too, and they were nearly as enamoured with him as you were.

Recently, Namjoon had begun to hint to you that he'd be giving you a surprise on Christmas, and you were eagerly anticipating it, however when you tried to ask him what the surprise was he refused to tell you anything. "You'll know soon enough," he said, giving you a smile before changing the subject.

It was two weeks left till Christmas, and everywhere you looked you were reminded of it. There were sales going on, Christmas trees were found in almost every room you walked into, and the radio was playing Christmas songs nonstop. It was annoyingly festive, but the good vibes it was giving you made you happy.

You took photos of nearly all the decorations you saw, and sent them to Namjoon. He replied after a few minutes with pictures of the Christmas decorations he could see from where he was. It was simple - just a tree with some fairy lights on it and two presents below it, but after that he sent a message which said Just wait a while more for your surprise. It'll be worth it. The text left you feeling even more curious, and you looked forward to Christmas even more than before.

* * *

 

A few days later, you were in Namjoon's apartment, sprawled out on the couch watching a variety show as he worked on one of his compositions next to you. During a commercial break, you peered over at his laptop curiously. "What are you doing now?" He glanced up briefly, before redirecting his gaze to the screen. "Just trying to find a beat that suits this line I wrote." You nod, wondering why his answer was so short. He could usually talk nonstop about his music, but his mind seemed to be far away now. Deciding not to press it, you leaned back again, resting your head on Namjoon's shoulder as you turned your eyes back to the television.

  
Now that you think about it again, that was probably the beginning of the end.

After that day, Namjoon just seemed to get more and more distant from you. The texts you sent were answered with one word replies, or a sentence if you were lucky. It was puzzling - you hadn't done anything that you knew of, but he rarely even picked up your calls anymore, and if he did they usually ended after a minute or two.

Seeing no other reason, you chalked it up to him being busy with his work and preparing for the surprise... whatever it was. It wasn't the best reason you could come up with, but it was the most logical one, as long as you ignored the little voice in your head whispering that previously when Namjoon was busy, he still made time for you.

In the meantime, you comforted yourself by looking through your old conversations and selfies, and reminded yourself of the surprise. Christmas became a hope you were clinging to desperately, and everyone else was enjoying the holiday spirit, but you were just impatiently waiting for December 25 to arrive.

* * *

It was December 22 when Namjoon called you. You'd just knocked off work and you were about to leave the office when your phone rang, and when you picked up Namjoon's voice came through very clearly. "Do you want to grab dinner together?"

He was already waiting your office, as though he'd known you would say yes, and when he saw you approaching he immediately walked forward to wrap you into a hug. It was slightly overwhelming; there was no trace of the distant Namjoon you'd (not) gotten to know in the past week, and things felt exactly like how it used to be. You wanted to ask him about his behaviour the last week, but you didn't want to ruin the mood, so you filed it away for later and gave him a wide smile.

You followed behind Namjoon as he headed towards where he wanted to bring you for dinner, and when you were about to reach it you realised that it was where you had had your first date. It was a small restaurant, and you'd gone there so often that the staff knew both you and Namjoon by name. As you walked in, the waitress Suzy greeted you with a smile. After taking your seats, she asked, "The usual?" and you nodded, as did Namjoon. She walked away to place the orders, and the two of you were left alone at the table.

Namjoon looked at you and asked tenderly, "How was work today?" You began to tell him everything that had happened in the office today, any previous thoughts of whether this would be uncomfortable flying out of the window. After that question, conversation flowed naturally, continuing even when the food arrived and both of you were eating. It was something very simple, but it made you feel fuzzy inside. This was what you had missed when you hadn't gotten to talk much with Namjoon - being able to just talk without wondering if anything was wrong.

All too soon, the food on the plates were gone and you were leaving the restaurant and heading home. As you walked along the streets, pointing out various things that caught your eye like the reindeer display at that shop window there and candy canes hanging from the door here, you noticed that Namjoon was becoming silent again. You bit your lip, unsure if you should ask if he was all right, but you decided that there was no better chance to ask it, so you took a deep breath and spoke.

"Hey... are you okay? You're not talking again...." Namjoon seems to snap out of some sort of reverie, and runs a hand through his hair, letting out a sigh. "Yeah, I-I'm fine." You're unconvinced, and wanted to ask again, but he stands there looking thoughtful for a moment before correcting his statement.

"No, actually, I'm not. I guess it's time to be truthful, huh?" He laughs bitterly, and stops walking, standing a short distance away from the door with the candy canes hanging off it. You stop walking too, turning to face him. "What's going on?" You ask softly, trying to read his expression. Namjoon sighs again, looking down at the ground. "I.. I can't do this anymore."

"The company wants us to break up. They say the standard of my work's dropping, and I've tried to improve it, to make it better and good enough for them, but it's still not enough. I don't know what to do."

* * *

The first thought that runs through your mind is Oh. You've never reacted well to people suddenly springing bad news on you, and you want to ask if Namjoon's joking with you, but you know he wouldn't joke about something like this. "Do we... have to break up?" Namjoon brings himself to look you in the eye, though it seems like it takes a lot of effort, and you can clearly see the conflict in his eyes. "I think so. I don't want to, I really don't, but if I don't listen to them.... I can't lose this job."

Your heart shatters at this. You know how much he loves music and his job, but you'd never thought he would have to choose between it and you. You let out a shaky laugh, "I see. I understand." Namjoon looks worried, and takes a step forward and stretches an arm out towards you, but he thinks better of it at the last second and his arm drops to his side.

The both of you stand there in silence for nearly a minute, when you suddenly remember about the surprise. "What was the surprise?" You ask cautiously, and Namjoon, who had been looking everywhere else but at you, turned sharply, not expecting you to ask that. "I guess I should just tell you. I was going to ask you to move in with me."

The answer hurts more than you'd thought it would, and you exhale slowly. There's nothing left to say now, and it's becoming suffocating, so you turn around and prepare to leave. "I'm-I'll get going." Namjoon doesn't say anything, and lets you leave. You walk at your normal pace until you turn a corner, and then you run all the way home, your fists clenched tightly.

* * *

That Christmas was cold and painful. You spent the next few days in your apartment, either lying on the bed crying or sitting in front of the television, staring blankly into space. It's not the end of the world, you know that, but it's hard to work up the energy to feel happy, or even doing basic things like eat.

There are times when you wonder if Namjoon's doing as badly as you are, but then you brush those thoughts off. Whether he's okay or not, you shouldn't ask. It won't help matters. And you try to motivate yourself to pick yourself up and continue going, which only really starts to happen close to a month later.

Around that time, Namjoon releases his new album. You know it's a bad idea to, but you buy it and listen to it. It's good, but the songs seem to have this sort of... sad feeling to it. By the time you reach the last song, your mood has been affected by the sad vibe, and when you realise that Namjoon is rapping about a relationship he tried to save but couldn't, you start to sob.

After that, you never listen to the album again, and you don't contact him either, even though you'd wanted to. Time had seemed to be passing slowly, but here you were 11 months later, feeling okay after everything. Remembering had made you slightly sad again, but it was no longer the kind of numbing sadness you'd first felt.

Walking along the streets you'd run through that day almost a year ago, you're admiring the decorations when you spot a familiar back, and stop in your tracks. It looks like Namjoon, but you're not sure. Whoever it is is with a woman about half a head shorter than him, and they're walking hand-in-hand, speaking in hushed tones and looking at ease. You continue to stare, observing how the woman says something to make him laugh, and he uses his free hand to brush a stray lock of hair away from her face. He's looking straight at her, and your breath hitches when you realise that yes, it is Namjoon.

It suddenly feels cold, way colder than it was just a minute ago, and you can almost hear your heart cracking again, but you will yourself not to cry. If Namjoon has moved on, you should too. Taking a deep breath to try and calm yourself down, you force yourself to start walking again, and head in the direction away from Namjoon and his girlfriend.


	8. eight - junmyeon

**“for you, anything.”**

 

* * *

  
The way you'd met Junmyeon was like this: Three years ago, you were working as a waitress in a well-known restaurant. It wasn't an ideal job, but it was something to earn (quite a bit, considering it was waitressing) money while looking for a better job, and you liked your coworkers, so things weren't all that bad.

On one of your Saturday night shifts, the restaurant was extremely busy with many couples and families coming in for dinner, and you had been handling as many tables as you could when your manager stopped you and said, "There're important guests in the private room, make sure you take care of them first before you focus on other tables." It wasn't an odd request, there had been other important guests who had come to the restaurant to eat, but what was odd was that when you went into the private room to take orders, you were met with twelve men around their twenties like you, all dressed in suits. This wasn't a business meeting though, far from it. They were all relaxed and none of them were acting formal with the others. When you took a closer look, they were all good-looking, but one of them caught your eye. He was speaking quietly to the taller man sitting next to him, who had thick eyebrows which were furrowed as he listened to the other speak. He was dressed the same as the rest of them, but his suit seemed to fit better than theirs, and he gave off an aura of elegance. Even the way he sat was graceful.

Remembering the reason why you were in the room, you stood a little straighter and cleared your throat, adjusting the notepad you were holding. The man, hearing you clear your throat, looked up and made eye contact with you. Immediately understanding the situation, he raised his voice slightly. "Quieten down children, it's time to order." Surprisingly enough, all of them stopped their conversations and turned their attention to you. A couple of minutes later, you'd gotten all their orders, and as you walked out of the private room, you heard the noise level begin to rise again.

* * *

About twenty minutes later, the food was ready to be served, and as you stepped into the private room again with the first few dishes, you were greeted with a sight you hadn't expected to see. Two of them were running around, the one with blond hair and dark eyerings chasing the shorter redhead with a cheeky grin. Another three were singing together, while those sitting around them half listened as they had their own private conversations. When they noticed that you were here with the food, however, they quietened again, pointing you to whoever ordered which item. You had to make a few trips back and forth to bring all the food over, but you got to know some of their names from this. The blond with dark eyerings was called Tao, while the redhead was Baekhyun, and the tall guy with thick eyebrows was Yifan. And the one who'd first caught your eye...

"The steak is Junmyeon's!" Baekhyun said, helpfully pointing you towards the supposed mother figure of the group. He thanked you with a smile as you set his plate down before him, and you gave him a quick smile back before continuing with your work.

As you served the rest of the men at the table, you couldn't tell if it was just your imagination or if Junmyeon's gaze stayed on you.

* * *

After serving the food, there hadn't been a chance for you to go back into the private room, as you'd been caught up in waiting on other tables outside, and all too soon they were leaving. One of your coworkers was in charge of their bill, and after they had left you were tasked to clean the table. The room was still rather clean, and cleaning up the table was easy enough. When you were picking up the paper napkins left on the table, you noticed that one of them was unused, but words had been scribbled on it. Picking it up, you saw a number written on it in a hasty scrawl, with the name Kim Junmyeon written under it. There were words next to Junmyeon's name, but you couldn't read it except for the first character, which happened to be the first character of your name.

Since none of your other coworkers' names had the same first character as yours, you could only assume that it was for you, and you tucked it into the pocket on your apron before continuing to clean up.

* * *

After work, it was 11pm, and you'd just finished showering. You lay on your bed staring at the napkin, wondering what you should do with Junmyeon's number. You'd already saved it into your phone, but to text him seemed slightly weird. That didn't mean that you hadn't mentally composed numerous texts to him, though, and after agonising over it for nearly half an hour, you finally decided to text him _Hello, you left a napkin with your number and name on it and what looks like mine next to it._ It sounds formal and awkward, but you figured that was the best you could do.

Junmyeon read the text almost instantly, and replied after a minute. _Hello, I'm sorry but I didn't write anything on any napkins..._ You stare at his text for a couple of moments, wondering how you should reply to that, but you're saved from trying to think of an answer when Junmyeon asks if you can take a picture of the napkin and send it to him. You oblige, and less than a minute after you send the image to him, he replies you with _That looks like my friend's handwriting... I'm sorry haha._ He continues typing after that message, and it's soon followed with _I guess they're trying to set us up, and they'll kick me if I don't do anything about this now so do you want to meet up sometime? This may sound weird but I don't have any creepy intentions, I'd just like to get to know you more._ A smile appears on your face as you read this, he seems like a very nice and polite person, so you agree and by the end of the conversation, you'd agreed on where and when to meet.

* * *

 

That had been three years ago, and things had gone extremely smoothly after that meeting with Junmyeon. One date had turned into two, and soon enough you were getting to know all his friends who'd been in the restaurant that day, and you got to know that it was Yifan who'd written on the napkin after Junmyeon had mentioned to him in passing that he thought you were pretty. Both you and Junmyeon had blushed after hearing that story, and at the urging of everyone present, Junmyeon asked you to be his girlfriend that day.

Now the both of you lived together in his apartment, and you felt lucky to have Junmyeon in your life. He was the best boyfriend that you could ask for; he was caring and constantly wanted to spoil you by buying you expensive gifts, but you'd put your foot down after he bought you clothes that were so expensive just the thought of wearing the clothes alone made you uncomfortable. That aside, he made sure to shower you in love and whenever you had a bad day, you knew he would always be there for you. He was your safe haven.

With Junmyeon's encouragement, you'd decided to try and pursue a career in writing, something you loved to do, and you spent a lot of time at home or in a nearby cafe trying to write. It got lonely sometimes, since Junmyeon wasn't home in the day, and one day you brought up a thought that had been on your mind for a while to him.

"Junmyeon, I've been considering getting something for a while," you voice out, and Junmyeon turns his attention from his laptop to you. "Get it, you know my credit card number and all that." You raise an eyebrow at his response. "You don't even know what I want to get, but you're already fine with me buying it?" Junmyeon gives you a smile as he moves his hand to hold yours, thumb idly rubbing the back of your hand. "I know you won't get anything that's dumb." His voice gets softer as he adds on, "Anyway, you know that if you want something i'd get it for you. For you, anything. As long as it makes you happy."

It's cheesy, but it brings a smile to your face. And you finally tell Junmyeon about the kitten you want to get. He's enthusiastic about the idea and discusses which breed to get, and eventually the both of you decide on a tabby cat. That weekend, the two of you drive to a shelter that has a tabby cat available for adoption, and after a few hours you bring Suho home. "It's a nice name," Junmyeon muses. "Suho will protect you."

You're happy and so is Junmyeon, but his original excitement begins to wane when he realises you're paying more attention to Suho than you are to him. "Isn't it my turn to get hugs and kisses now?" You look over at him from where you're seated on the floor cuddling the kitten, and when you see the pout on his face you sigh, placing Suho gently down onto the floor. "Come here then, you big baby." Junmyeon grins and runs over, tackling you into a huge hug. It nearly takes your breath away, and you laugh as you smack him on the arm, but you lean into the hug and treasure the feeling of security you get from Junmyeon, wondering how you could ever get so lucky.


	9. nine - jimin

**"why are you at my doorstep at 3 in the morning..."**

 

* * *

 

 

It's the night of Christmas Eve, and you had gone to sleep earlier than usual in anticipation for the long and tiring day ahead. But you'd woken up after hearing something, and a quick glance at your phone tells you that it's 3.52 a.m. You look around the room, trying to find the source of the noise that woke you up, but nothing seems to be out of the ordinary, so you just brush it off and lie back down in bed.

You're about to drift back to sleep again when you hear the sound for a second time. It's a muffled "plink" coming from your window, and you unwillingly drag yourself out of bed to go over to the window to find the cause of the noise.

When you peer out of the window, a small object flies dangerously close to your face, and you step back quickly before it hits you before you remember that the window's closed so the cold winter air won't get in, so whatever that was wouldn't be hitting your face. You're slightly irritated though, and when you look down you spot a familiar face staring back up at you.

Your neighbour Park Jimin waves cheerily up at you, seemingly not noticing the glares you're directing at him. You hiss down, "What are you doing?" And Jimin, as though he's not being faced by any sort of animosity, whispers loudly up to you, "Get changed and come down!" There's nothing else you'd want to do even less than get changed and go downstairs at 3 a.m, but you know that if you don't Jimin won't stop bothering you, so with a loud sigh you move away from the window and slowly get changed into your everyday clothes.

Ten minutes later, you walk down the stairs as silently as you can, making sure not to wake anyone up, before you head to the front door to open it, revealing Jimin looking bored. "Why are you at my doorstep at 3 in the morning?" You give him a disapproving look. He merely shrugs and says, "I thought we could go look at the Christmas decorations near the mall."

Jimin has always come up with crazy schemes, but this is by far one of the craziest. "Right now? Why?" Jimin gives you a secretive smile, "It'll be prettier now." With no choice but to go along with this plan, you scribble a quick note to your parents telling them that you're out with Jimin and that you'll be home soon, before stepping out of the house to follow Jimin.

He walks along the silent streets slowly, taking in how everything looks at 4 a.m. It almost feels like there's no one else in the area except for you and Jimin, everything is still and so quiet it's eerie. But Jimin just continues walking, and you continue to walk too, trying to replace the current state of the street with thoughts of how alive and bustling it is in the daytime.

It's not nearly as awkward as you thought it might be, there's something about Jimin that makes you feel that it's okay to be quiet and just cherish the moment, instead of forcing yourself to make conversation. You're not very close to him, but since he lives just next door and the both of you go to the same school, it isn't a stretch to call him your friend.

After a couple of turns, you're on the street where the mall is, and all the lights for the Christmas decorations are off, adding to the abandoned vibe the place is giving off. However, Jimin seems to have expected this, and he turns around to look at you. "What do you think? Cool, isn't it?" You have to admit that it does look cool, but you don't get why he brought you here.

"Why did you want to show me this?" You ask him, confusion written all over your face. Jimin looks slightly embarrassed as he answers you, "I don't know, I just thought you'd like it." And you do, so you tell him, and his face lights up. "Great! Let's continue walking around then."

The two of you start wandering around quiet neighbourhoods. Almost every house has some sort of Christmas decoration put up, and some of them have lights that are still on even at 4.30 a.m. It's a peaceful scene, and you take your phone out of your jeans pocket to snap a few photos. You're no professional photographer, but the pictures turn out nice to you, and you put your phone away feeling satisfied.

This is how the next hour goes, just you and Jimin walking around silently, until it's 5.30 a.m and you're back on the street with the mall, both of you sitting on a bench as you watch the first few rays of the sun light up the sky. The past few hours have felt like a strange but pleasant day, and as you sit next to Jimin looking at the sunrise, you're overcome with a feeling of calmness. You close your eyes for a moment, savouring the moment, but you're so tired that you drift off into a light sleep, and your head keeps tilting to the side until it lands on Jimin's shoulder.

Jimin had been peacefully watching the sunrise until he felt a sudden weight on his shoulder, and when he noticed that you'd fallen asleep, he let out a quiet chuckle before patting your head, whispering a "Merry Christmas" to you as he went back to watching the sunrise while you continued to sleep on his shoulder.


	10. ten - sehun

**“it’s been a long time since i saw your smile”**

 

* * *

 

 

On the morning of Christmas, you woke up to a text from your boyfriend Sehun. It said _Meet me at noon at our usual place._ It was 9 a.m, so you still had three hours before you met him. You went downstairs to eat breakfast with your family and open presents, and after all that was done you still had an hour left to get ready.

Time passed quickly as you made yourself pretty to meet Sehun, and all too soon you had to leave. As you speed walked to the door, you called out to your parents, telling them that you were meeting with Sehun, and left. Your usual place with him was a playground. It wasn't the place many people your age went to for dates, but it was nice to just sit there with Sehun and watch the children playing as the both of you talked about anything and everything.

When you reached the playground, Sehun was already there waiting, and there were a few plastic bags next to him. Sehun waved when he saw you, and after you sat next to him, he began to take the things in the plastic bags out. There were sandwiches, two bottles of soda and some chips. You looked at Sehun in confusion, and he gave you a smile as he explained, "I thought we'd have a picnic today."

It isn't a fancy picnic, but it's a sweet gesture, and you're happy as you eat with Sehun in companionable silence, looking at the children at the playground who'd probably insisted on coming even though it was Christmas. They were cute; there was a young girl who looked about three and a boy who was slightly older, and they were on the swings. The girl got tired after a while and got off the swing, toddling towards the slide, but she tripped over her own feet and fell to the ground. She wasn't bleeding, thankfully, but her face scrunched up in pain as she began to cry. The boy looked somewhat flustered, and immediately got off the swing to check if she was alright. He carefully patted her knee and she stopped crying, looking at him in amazement as he said something quietly to her.

You looked at Sehun, who'd also seen what had happened, and sighed as you said teasingly, "If only there was someone who was as nice to me." Sehun rolled his eyes at you as he reached down to take something out of his pocket. "I'm even nicer than that, I bought us tickets to ride the cable car later." Your eyes light up at this, you love going on the cable car, but since it's expensive and you're almost always busy with work you haven't been able to go for a while. You thank him and he smirks at you, "See, that boy has nothing on me."

After the both of you are done eating, you put all the rubbish into a plastic bag to throw away, and you begin to make your way to where the cable cars are. In a short while, you've arrived, and soon enough the two of you are on a cable car that's moving along slowly enough to give you more than enough time to take in everything around you.

You're more relaxed than you've been in a long time, and a smile automatically appears on your face as you look at everything below you. Ten minutes into the cable car ride, Sehun suddenly remarks, "It's been a long time since I've seen your smile." You look at him in confusion, and he quickly rephrases, "I haven't seen you smile and look so comfortable in a while. Work's been difficult, hasn't it? That's why I thought I'd bring you here so you could get away from everything for a while."

You're moved by this, and you feel tears beginning to form. "Thank you, I'm glad I have you around." Sehun gives you a soft smile as he puts an arm around your shoulders, and you rest your head right below his collarbones, watching the rest of the world slowly pass the both of you by.


	11. eleven - hoseok

**"i can't believe we didn't find each other until now"**

 

* * *

 

 

You were queuing up outside Lotte World, waiting to get in. You were planning on buying a day pass and using it to the fullest, even though you were alone because your friend had ditched you at the last minute because her boyfriend had wanted to go out together.

As the queue inched forward, you went on Instagram to pass time, and as you scrolled through your feed you realised that almost every other post was of one of your friends and their boyfriend or girlfriend. You were one of the only people in your social circle who was still single, and it got awkward sometimes when your friends wanted to go out on group dates, but you believed you'd meet The One soon enough. Soon enough, you were at the front of the queue, and as you walked into Lotte World you took a deep breath, preparing yourself for the day ahead.

You immediately headed towards the rollercoasters. You weren't one for slowly easing yourself into the exhilarating rides, and you always loved the feeling you got when you were speeding through the air, like you were free and nothing could touch you. You were lucky to be able to get onto the ride quickly, and you gave a polite nod to the guy sitting next to you. His hair was dyed orange and he was dressed in casual streetwear, a plain white tee and baggy pants with a snapback on his head. He had a huge grin on his face as he said, "I love this ride!" You smiled and agreed with him, and you gripped the safety bar in front of you as you began moving.

Two minutes later, it was over but you were craving for more. It had been amazing - the rollercoaster had been so fast that you hadn't been able to scream, but the guy next to you had yelled loudly with a big smile on his face. You wanted to go for another round, but the queue for the ride had gotten pretty long, so you decided to move on and go to another rollercoaster.

This rollercoaster had a queue too, but it was shorter and after about ten minutes you were able to get on. When you looked at all the people who were going to be on the ride with you, you were surprised to notice the same guy sitting just behind you. He recognised you too, and told you, "I love this ride too!" You laughed, and replied, "Me too!" as you felt yourself moving slowly up to the top of a huge drop.

You got off feeling slightly dizzy but generally alright. You'd screamed your lungs out on this one, and your heartbeat was fast. It was time for something a bit more relaxing, so you checked the map and walked over to the spinning teacups.

You got into one of the teacups alone, and as the ride began to move, you saw a flash of orange hair. Upon taking a closer look, you saw that it was that same guy again, and he raised an eyebrow at you when he noticed that both of you were on the same ride again. It's not the best idea to have a conversation while you're spinning around so fast that everything's a blur, but he shouted over to you, "My name's Jung Hoseok! What's yours?" You answered him in a voice quite a bit softer than his, but he caught it anyway and when you got off the ride feeling even more dizzy than before, he was standing there waiting for you. "Since we're going to all the same places and we're both alone, it'll probably be more fun to go around together. What do you think?" It sounds like a good idea, especially since some of the rides are more fun when you're with someone else, so you agree.

Both of you go around the amusement park at a quick speed, getting off one ride and heading straight to the next one. You go on the bumper cars, water rides (both of you get soaked but it's fine since you both made sure to bring a change of clothes) and you walk through the hall of mirrors, laughing hard at how the other looks in all the different mirrors.

It's a good day, and the two of you have a late lunch because you were having so much fun you didn't feel like pausing for food. While you eat, you talk, and you get to know more about Hoseok. He got ditched by his friend too, except that his friend woke up late and was too lazy to rush over. He's a dance major in Seoul University, and he's one year ahead of you. He's surprised to find out that you're an art major in Seoul University too, and he marvels at how small the world is. After you're done with lunch, you walk around with him and go to the games stalls to hopefully win some prizes while waiting for your food to digest.

First, the two of you head to a shooting stall. Hoseok's not too good at it but he manages to get a small fish stuffed toy, while you do better than he does and win a plush rabbit. Then, you head to apple bobbing, where you don't get anything but Hoseok does so well that he ends up with a huge teddy bear. He gives it to you, claiming that it looks like you, and though you protest at first, when he insists that you accept it you do, thanking him warmly.

After this, you feel ready for more fun, so you suggest going to the haunted house. Hoseok gamely agrees, and you walk over to the haunted house. It gives off an eerie vibe, with the sounds of screaming coming from both inside the house and speakers mounted just outside. You like the spooky feeling you get, while Hoseok looks slightly hesitant, but when you ask him if he doesn't want to go in he shakes his head and says that he's fine.

This turns out to be a lie when you walk through the haunted house and when a ghost pops up next to Hoseok, he jumps nearly a foot into the air and grabs your hand, squeezing it for comfort. You laugh at him, but you're forced to eat your words of "It's not that scary!" just a few minutes later when a woman in a white dress asks you where her daughter is, and reaches a hand out to grab you. You scream and Hoseok laughs at you even through his fear. "What were you saying again?"

When the both of you finally make it out of the haunted house, it takes you some time to calm yourself down, and while you inhale deeply you mutter to yourself, "Never again." Hoseok doesn't seem to be much better off than you are, his face is pale and he's almost gasping for air, but in five minutes the both of you are feeling better and you're trying to decide where to go next. You look at the map you're holding and realise that your other hand is still holding Hoseok's. He seems to notice at the same time you do, and quickly lets go with an embarrassed laugh.

By this time, it's already 5 p.m, and since you've gone on almost all the rides you and Hoseok agree that the best way to end today off would be to go on the Ferris wheel. The queue is long, but it moves somewhat quickly and in 20 minutes you're in a capsule. The wheel moves slowly, and you look at the scenery around you. It's a pretty sight, especially since the sun is setting and the sky's stained pink. Hoseok's been silent ever since you got up the wheel, and he suddenly clears his throat, catching your attention. When you turn to look at him, he's speaking slowly and stammering at some parts of his sentences.

"Today was, uh, really fun, and I'm glad that we, um, got to know each other. And this may sound.... creepy, but if you wanted to we could meet up again?" He sounds hopeful, and his cheeks are stained the same pink as the sky. You don't even have to think before you reply him with a nod, after all you enjoyed yourself today too and it would be fun to go other places with Hoseok. He looks surprised when you agree, and he gives you a wide smile. "Where do you live, by the way? It's not meant to be invasive, it's just so I can think of a place nearby for us to go to next time." You tell him, and his eyes widen almost comically. "No way."

It turns out that Hoseok lives just a couple floors above you, and you've been neighbours for many years but neither of you had any idea. Hoseok starts to laugh, and he says, "I can't believe we didn't find each other until now." You find it hard to believe too, and as your capsule reaches the ground and the two of you get out, beginning to head home, you turn around to look at the amusement park with the sunset as a background. You'll remember it as a place full of surprises, accidental meetings and promise.


	12. twelve - zitao

**"this wasn't how i planned our first date!"**

 

* * *

 

You're standing in the frigid winter cold, shivering in your coat, when you see a lean figure walking in your direction. He has sunglasses and a cap on, a small ponytail sticking out of the back of the cap, and he raises one hand in greeting when he notices you. You don't return the hello, pouting at him instead. "You're late! On our first date!" Zitao looks confused, lifting his wrist up to check the time. "No, I'm right on time, look!" His watch does say it's 1.30 p.m, but a quick glance at your phone tells you it's actually 1.40 p.m. "Your watch is slow, but let's go in first before we continue talking, I'm freezing."

* * *

 You enter the dog cafe, Zitao right behind you, and you instantly feel better as the warmth of the room envelopes you. You stand still for a moment just embracing the heat, and you feel a slight weight against your leg. A puppy has sniffed its way over to your feet, and it looks up at you with eyes that are so pretty they put yours to shame (and you think your eyes are very pretty). You bend down to pick the puppy up, cooing at it, and it licks your face. You'd be happy just staying there and playing with the puppy for the next few hours, but Tao calls you over to the table he's sitting down at, so you carry it over.

You ate lunch before you came, so you order some dessert. You aren't here for the food anyway, you're here for the dogs. And there are so many of them; wherever you look there's bound to be a dog there. There are many others here to play with the dogs too, but it's not too noisy. You turn your attention back to the puppy, and a quick look at his collar tells you that his name is Monggu. You pet Monggu and hug him close to your chest, and he rests his tiny head against your shoulder. Your heart melts at the sight, and you force Zitao to stop eating his cake to take photos of you and Monggu.

Zitao's been busy eating his cake and looking at you interact with Monggu and the other curious dogs which wander over to the two of you, but he's getting bored. Not because he doesn't like dogs - he loves them, but because he brought you here thinking that you'd like it, just not to this extent. You haven't even paid him any attention after coming in, and to think it took him so much courage to ask you out on a date after being classmates for so many years.

As he thinks these thoughts, a frown appears on his face and he stops eating his cake, fork poised right above the cake as he continues thinking. You glance over for a moment after you don't hear the sound of his fork clinking against the plate, and when you see how deep in thought he is you try to snap him out of it. "What are you thinking about?" You ask him, and Monggu looks over at him too. When he hears your voice, he's reminded of where he is and he turns his attention to you. He's intending to say something that sounds cool, but what he ends up saying is, "This wasn't how I planned our first date!" It comes out as a whine, much to his embarrassment, but when you hear this you burst out laughing.

"What's wrong with this?" Zitao pouts childishly as he answers, "You're not even looking at me! All you care about are the dogs." You stifle a laugh and get up with Monggu in your arms, walking over to where Zitao is sitting and placing Monggu down onto Zitao's lap. "I am looking at you, just that I don't see such cute dogs around as often as I see you." Zitao's mildly offended by this statement, and he tries to argue that he's cute too, but you ignore him as you take a bite of his cake, and after a while he gives up, halfheartedly petting Monggu as he continues to pout. In the meantime, you're having the time of your life playing with as many puppies as you can.

Two hours later, after you've cuddled all the puppies in the cafe and Zitao's eaten three slices of cake, both of you leave the dog cafe, you looking back unwillingly while Zitao's all too happy to get out so your attention will only be on him. He claims that he's hungry and he wants to eat fried chicken, so you head to a nearby fried chicken place for dinner. It's good, and Zitao uses it to distract himself from the pain that is hearing you enthuse about all the dogs you got to know just now. You can see the disappointment on his face clear as day, which is why you decide to stop teasing him after dinner.

When the two of you are walking back after dinner, you slip your hand into his and Zitao immediately looks over at you, alert. You smile sweetly up at him as you say, "Thank you for today, I had fun." He mutters about how it's only because you got to play with all those dogs, but you see a blush appearing on his cheeks. You swing his arm as you walk, and though he complains that it's making his arm feel sore, you don't miss the tender look he gives you when he thinks you aren't looking.

* * *

 All too soon, you arrive at your house, and when you say goodbye to him, you tell him, "I can't wait for our next date!" And you give him a quick peck on the cheek before walking into the house, leaving Zitao standing outside pressing a hand to his cheek, looking amazed.


	13. thirteen - taehyung

**“it’s fine even if you don’t love me”**

 

* * *

 

On the morning of your 18th birthday, you woke up and immediately glanced at your wrist, groaning inwardly when you saw the numbers on your wrist. When everyone turned 18, a counter would appear on your wrist, telling you when you'd meet your soulmate. You'd seen many people meet their soulmates, and they almost always fell in love. But you were skeptic - How was it possible for two complete strangers to meet and then because of some numbers on their wrist decide to stay together forever? You were more interested in the stories that occasionally appeared on the news talking about how soulmates had met but decided that they didn't want to stay together.

But from the numbers on your wrist, you had a bit over a week before you'd meet your soulmate, which meant you'd be meeting him on... Christmas Eve. You didn't like the idea of this, but there was no way to avoid it. The only thing you could do for now was just go about your life normally and pretend that everything was fine.

* * *

As much as you were skeptical about the idea of meeting your supposed soulmate, you found yourself wondering what he was like. You'd never dated, so you were inexperienced when it came to things that couples did, and you were curious if he had dated. With your luck, he'd end up being someone popular who'd dated so many times that meeting you wouldn't be a problem, since he would be able to charm you over in a matter of minutes.

You didn't like the thought of that, but you liked the fact that you were thinking about such things before you even met him even less, so you made yourself focus on other things. You threw yourself into different activities to try to get your mind off your soulmate, even resorting to doing homework, but nothing really seemed to work.

With less than three days left before you met him, you went shopping, and whenever you tried on clothes that you thought looked nice, your mind inevitably drifted to whether he'd like it too. You ended up just buying whatever fit and left the shop quickly to get a drink. You felt like you were going crazy.

* * *

Christmas Eve finally arrived, and when it was three hours to the time you were meant to meet him, your friend called you to ask if you wanted to meet for a drink. You agreed so you wouldn't sit at home overthinking, and you figured that if the two of you were there for long enough, Starbucks wouldn't be a bad place to meet your soulmate.

Despite the fact that your soulmate was always somewhere at the back of your mind, you had fun catching up with your friend, and with less than ten minutes left to the end of the countdown, you excused yourself to go to the washroom to make sure you looked okay. You placed your hands on the sides of the sink and inhaled deeply, trying to mentally prepare yourself for the meeting. By this time, you'd completely forgotten how skeptical you were of soulmates falling in love almost instantly, you just wanted to meet him and see how he was like.

With five minutes left, you returned to your seat and continued talking to your friend. She noticed how tense and fidgety you were being, and with some prodding you revealed to her that you were just about to meet your soulmate. She looked confused, after all all your friends knew what you thought about soulmates, but when you confessed that you didn't know what to think anymore, her expression softened and she patted your hand encouragingly.

Just then, a tall boy around your age entered. He had hair a pretty shade of lilac, and your friend recognised him, lifting her hand to call him over. She turns back to you, "This is my senior, and well, friend, Taehyung, he just graduated from our high school." He walks over quickly, a huge grin on his face, and when he nears tragedy strikes. He trips on his shoelace, and when he falls it's seemingly in slow motion, until he lands in a crumpled heap next to your feet. He looks up at you in embarrassment, and he seems like he wants to say something until he suddenly remembers something and he whips his wrist up to look. What he sees leaves him a bit paler than before, and as you look at him in confusion he slowly lifts his head to look at you again before whispering ever so eloquently, "Oh shit."

From his actions, you remember that you're supposed to meet your soulmate any moment now, and you lift your wrist up to see a line of zeroes on your wrist. Now that your soulmate's right in front of you, you had no idea how to react, and panic had you getting up from your seat quickly and muttering a "Sorry, I have to go" to both Taehyung and your friend as you run out of the Starbucks.

By the time you reach home, you're out of breath and you collapse on your bed panting, thoughts running through your mind faster than they ever have. You don't know what to expect now that you've messed things up so badly, and you scream into your pillow in frustration. After what feels like hours of inner turmoil, you drift off to sleep, and when you wake up it's dark outside. You check your phone to see a text from an unknown number, and when you open it you realise it's from Taehyung.

_Hello, I'm Kim Taehyung, your soulmate. I'm sorry for freaking you out like that, I'm not usually like this.  
I think we should meet up to talk, I hope you reply to this._

The message is followed by a long string of what looks like random emojis, but you're more focused on how Taehyung says he wants to meet even after the horror that was your first meeting just a few hours ago. You decide to reply and agree that you should meet up, and Taehyung replies almost immediately. A few minutes later, you have a meeting set up for tomorrow.

* * *

You dress up even more nicely than you did yesterday, determined to make a better impression today, and you head out of the house early. When you reach the front of the mall fifteen minutes early, you're surprised to see Taehyung already there waiting. He notices you and walks over, a shy smile on his face as he introduces himself and sticks a hand out. You tell him your name and shake his hand, and both of you stand there in silence after that.

It's getting awkward already, and you're internally panicking when Taehyung clears his throat and thrusts a nicely-wrapped present into your hands. "I... bought this for you. I hope you like it." You realise that you should've gotten him something too, it's Christmas after all, but when Taehyung sees the look on your face he immediately reassures you that he doesn't need anything and that it's fine.

Silence comes over the two of you again, and once again Taehyung takes the initiative to speak. "So. After yesterday I was talking to your - our? - friend, and I heard that you don't believe in soulmates..." You want to cut in, but decide that it's better to wait for him to finish speaking. He laughs, "I actually really like the idea of soulmates, and I'm not saying this to make you feel bad or anything. I just think we should at least get to know each other. It's fine even if you don't love me or whatever, but I'd like if we can be friends." He looks at your hopefully, and you smile at him. "That sounds good."

Taehyung gives you a huge grin after he hears your response, and he drags you into the mall so the both of you can sit down and "get to know each other!"

* * *

It's no surprise when you end up falling for Taehyung, and when you tell him about two months after, his face gets extremely red as he stutters out that he likes you too. Fast forward to exactly a year after your first meeting, and Taehyung's in your house, lying on your bed as though it's his own. You're snuggled up against him, and when you ask him quietly what he thought of you on your first meeting, his face gets slightly red as he says, "I thought you were pretty. I still think I'm lucky for having someone so pretty as my soulmate." You roll your eyes at how cheesy he is, but you still smile and Taehyung catches it, pulling you even closer to him as he teases you about how you like hearing him say cheesy things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and this is the last of reader x bangtan member drabbles i'll write! the rest will be ships like taekook, yoonmin, namjin etc. i have some planned out already, but if you want me to write a particular ship do comment it :-)


	14. fourteen - kyungsoo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: do not read if you are triggered by (quite major) character death, mentions of hospitals or hallucinations

**"h-hey! why are you crying all of a sudden?!"**

 

* * *

 

 

You were running through a dark forest. The trees were all so tall, and in the darkness they seemed menacing, branches stretched out towards you as though they were trying to grab you. You were afraid, but you couldn't quite remember why - all you knew was that you has to continue running and you couldn't stop until it was safe.

You were getting tired, physical education was never your best subject and it was obvious why. You nearly stumbled a few times, getting tripped up by roots and uneven soil. How long more would you have to run for?

After a few more minutes, you'd had enough, and just when you were about to stop running, you came across a small clearing. It was brighter here, the trees didn't seem nearly as scary as they had just moments ago. You stepped into the clearing cautiously, and when you were inside you noticed a man sitting on a log in the middle of the clearing. He was singing, and his voice was soothing to listen to.

You wanted to move even closer, but on the next step you took you broke a twig, and the sound caused the man to stop singing and look over at you. Alarm was written all over his features, and he asked softly, "Who are you?"

It was such a comforting voice. It felt as though you'd heard his voice somewhere else, maybe in another life. You felt a sudden warmth on your face, and realised you'd begun crying. He was even more panicked than before. "H-hey! Why are you crying all of a sudden?"

You couldn't reply him. The tears were coming down quickly now, and you would feel embarrassed for how you were acting, but there was this sense of security you were getting from this man. Seeing that you weren't answering him, he cautiously got up and walked towards you. He stopped right in front of you, and said, "My name's Kyungsoo... What's yours?"

At this, your tears began to stop, and you looked up at him, trying to think why the name Kyungsoo sounded so familiar to you. When there was still no reply from you, Kyungsoo sighed and reached over to pat your shoulder.

It was calming you down, and you were just beginning to relax when Kyungsoo suddenly began to pat your shoulder more and more insistently. Your eyes had closed, and when you next opened them it was to see the face of someone who looked similar to Kyungsoo, but slightly older. "Mom? Are you okay?"

You had no idea how to react. Who was he calling mom? Fear began to fill you again, and all you wanted was to be back in the clearing with Kyungsoo again. You weakly whispered Kyungsoo's name, and the guy who had called you mom looked concerned, stepping away from you to talk in hushed tones to a doctor who'd just entered the room.

You tried to listen in on their conversation, but the only thing you managed to catch was "hallucinating again." The thought of your encounter with Kyungsoo being just a hallucination filled you with unimaginable panic. There was no way it was a hallucination. It was too real. You began to whimper quietly, tears forming and beginning to fall again, following the tracks of those that had already dried.

Both your son and the doctor looked at you in alarm and they rushed over to your bedside. The doctor pressed a button next to your bed, and you stopped crying, feeling a sense of calmness take over you.

The last thing you heard before darkness overcame you was your son saying, "Why can't you remember, mom? Dad's gone..."


	15. fifteen - taekook

**" _holy shit!_ i finally found something that i'm better in than you!"**

 

* * *

 

 

It's Christmas break, and since it's winter it's bitterly cold, but Jungkook's brother insists on going swimming. "My friend's pool is heated!" And after much persuasion Jungkook's mother allows him to go, only if he brings Jungkook along. Which is why Jungkook finds himself being dragged out of bed early to go over to Kim Seokjin's house to use his heated pool.

His brother's excited, but what Jungkook wants to do is just go back to sleep, preferably until noon. But when he reaches the house he wakes up fully, because damn, Kim Seokjin's house is huge.

There seem to be at least three floors, and the house is painted a pale shade of blue. It's easily the prettiest house Jungkook has ever seen, which honestly doesn't say much since he's 11, but he's seen some of the houses of his richer friends and they all pale in comparison to this one.

His brother has already run ahead to ring the doorbell, and when he turns around to see Jungkook still standing still and staring at the house, he impatiently waves Jungkook over. The door opens to a tall, somewhat awkward looking boy. He gives them both a warm smile and introduces himself to Jungkook as Seokjin.

Somehow without Jungkook noticing, his brother and Seokjin have already run ahead to the pool, leaving him wandering around one of the many hallways. It doesn't really matter to him, he doesn't particularly want to swim anyway. He walks slowly down the hallway, stopping to peer into any rooms with open doors. One of them is full of expensive-looking paintings and nothing else, and Jungkook stops for a bit to look at all of them. They're mostly abstract or of flowers, and he doesn't understand why anyone would spend money on paintings like these, but he just continues on.

The next open door he peers into, he sees bright yellow walls with clothes scattered haphazardly everywhere, especially on the king sized bed in the middle of the room. This is obviously someone's bedroom, and Jungkook's just about to back away since it's an invasion of privacy when the pile of clothes at the center of the bed move.

It's startling, but even more so when a head and an arm pops out of it. The arm is holding a black and purple striped sock, and the face of the brunet looks triumphant as he shouts, "I found you, Mr Sock! You can't hide from me!" Then he spots Jungkook standing at the door and both of them freeze, staring at each other.

It's silent and very awkward, until the boy says brightly, "I'm Taehyung! Who are you?" Jungkook looks over his shoulder slowly before pointing at himself, quietly asking if Taehyung's talking to him. A smile appears on Taehyung's face as he laughs and nods, and Jungkook's face flushes as he mutters his name. Taehyung gets out of the pile of clothes (with much difficulty) and bounds over to Jungkook. "Kookie, did Jinnie-hyung invite you over? He said he had friends coming over today."

So Taehyung is Seokjin's brother. Jungkook nods, and Taehyung looks thoughtful. "You look too young to be Jinnie-hyung's age though. How old are you, Kookie?" Jungkook answers, "I'm 11. My hyung is here, he's Seokjin-hyung's friend." Taehyung looks delighted at this. "I'm your hyung then! I'm 12," he puts up one finger on his right hand and two on his left to show Jungkook proudly.

This whole conversation is somewhat bizarre, especially how Taehyung's calling Jungkook Kookie within five minutes of them meeting, but Jungkook finds himself warming to Taehyung quickly. Taehyung brings him to the pool so they can have a swimming competition, "I'm good at swimming, Kookie! Are you good at swimming?" Jungkook half nods at this, and Taehyung gives him another smile.

That smile is soon replaced with a look of surprise when Jungkook beats Taehyung in swimming freestyle, backstroke and practically all the strokes he knows. After their fourth lap, Taehyung gets out of the pool looking serious, and Jungkook quickly gets out too, feeling anxious. Is Taehyung angry at him? But Taehyung isn't, and he says, "Kookie, we're only left with one more competition now. Diving!"

They head to the diving boards, and Taehyung looks at ease as he stretches a little and prepares to dive, while Jungkook stands somewhat awkwardly on the board next to him, not sure how to prepare to dive. "On the count of three we jump, Kookie!" Taehyung says to him, and even though Jungkook doesn't know what he's doing he just nods. Taehyung suddenly shouts, "Three!" and jumps into the water.

Jungkook doesn't know anything about form, but Taehyung looks so graceful as he enters the water, barely making a sound. When he resurfaces, Jungkook is still standing on the diving board, and at the urging of Taehyung he jumps, landing almost flat on the water.

It hurts, but it's worth it to see the look on Taehyung's face as he exclaims, " _Holy shit!_ I finally found something I'm better in than you!" Then he covers his mouth and looks embarrassed, but Jungkook just laughs it off.

They play in the water for a while more, until Seokjin and Jungkook's brother decide they've had enough and it's time for Jungkook and his brother to leave. As they all stand at the front door of Seokjin and Taehyung's house, Seokjin waves at Jungkook and his brother, while Taehyung shouts cheerfully, "Come back soon, Kookie! I'll miss you!"

Jungkook and his brother head home contented, Jungkook with a big smile on his face.


	16. sixteen - minseok

**"oh... sorryomgwrongnumber"**

 

* * *

 

 

You felt the cold before you even woke up fully. It made you feel like you couldn't move, but to warm yourself up you had to move at least a bit, so you forced yourself to open your eyes and sit up.

Looking around, you realised it was the dead of night and you were on a bench in the park. Everywhere was quiet, not even those who were out clubbing and wanted to head home were here. A sudden wave of tiredness washed over you, and you remembered how you ended up on the bench.

You'd been out drinking. Not clubbing; your mood wasn't good and you didn't feel like touching random strangers. You'd drank way more than usual and you wanted to go home, but from where you were now you'd probably gotten too tired to. You sighed and checked your phone, seeing a few notifications from a number you hadn't saved, the most recent one being _Are you okay?_

You frowned, you hadn't remembered texting anyone. Unlocking your phone and going to messages, you scrolled through the conversation and saw that you'd initiated it to your ex, who'd just broken up with you a couple of days before Christmas - who does that? - and was the reason why you went out drinking.

The conversation began with your message at 00:39 a.m, 24th December. _I don't understand why you broke up with me.... we've been together for so long how do u fall out of love with someone u said youd never get tired of?_ Surprisingly, he'd replied three minutes later. _Who are you?_ Reading that question now, you scoffed. Apparently the you of a few hours ago felt the same way, because your reply had been _You've forgotten me already? it's only been a few days & i went drinking because of you but you don't even remember me....._

You'd probably fallen asleep after that, since the messages that you'd received later hadn't been read. There was one at 00:54 saying _I don't know who you are, your number isn't saved in my contacts and I save everyone's number I know._ At 01:17 he said _Where are you now? It's dangerous to be out alone if you're drunk..._ And the last message at 01:29 said _Are you okay?_

Why was he showing so much concern if he kept claiming he didn't know you? Anger clouding your judgement, you pressed the call button next to his number and held your phone to your ear, waiting as the phone rang.

After a few seconds, the call connected and you heard a soft voice on the other end. "Hello? You're okay?" You'd never heard that voice before, and it confused you. This wasn't your ex. "Who are you?" You ask stupidly, and there's silence on the other end for a few seconds. "I'm Kim Minseok. You texted me just now but I think you got the wrong number."

You held your phone away in horror, looking at the number you'd just dialled. He was right - one of the digits was different. You'd been texting a stranger. With your head hurting and feeling more embarrassed than you had in a long time, you let out a loud groan and muttered down the phone, "Oh... Sorryomgwrongnumber."

Kim Minseok laughs, and it's a pleasant sound to hear. "That's okay. Where are you now though? Did you get home safely?" You bite your lip and decide to tell him the truth. "Actually... I'm on a park bench. I fell asleep here."

His reaction is immediate and very loud. " _What?_ Send me your location, I'll be right over." Before you have time to protest, he's hung up and you're left listening to nothing. With a sigh, you send the address of the park to Minseok and sit back against the bench, tilting your head up to look at the sky.

There aren't many stars because it's too bright, but you're pretty sure you can see at least one. You're focusing on it and enjoying the cool, quiet atmosphere of the park when you hear someone running towards you.

Your first reaction is to get up and run, but after you stand you realise it's probably Minseok (or a crazed murderer) so you sit back down again. In a couple of seconds, a brunet man who looks around his mid-twenties jogs over to you. He stops in front of you and bends over to catch his breath for a while, and when he straightens up and gives you an embarrassed smile the first thing you notice are his cheeks.

"You're the one who was texting me, right? I'm Kim Minseok." You nod and he breathes out a sigh of relief. "It's good that you're all right, but you should really go home now. It's late." You agree silently with this statement and stand, grabbing your bag next to you. Minseok offers his arm to you and after a moment of hesitation, you link your arm through his. The both of you start walking quietly with you leading the way to your house.

It's peaceful and surprisingly not awkward, or maybe you're still too drunk to get a good grasp of the atmosphere. It's probably the latter, since you nearly trip on flat ground and fall, and Minseok detaches your linked arms to grab you by the wrist. You apologise quickly, but Minseok just smiles at you and says it's okay, while holding your hand so that if you fall again he'll be able to catch you easily. Despite the cold winter breeze and the fact that he's not wearing gloves (neither are you, actually, you probably forgot them again), his hand is warm in yours.

Soon enough, the two of you are at your house, and before you go in you turn to thank Minseok and apologise again for texting him. He tells you that it's no problem and to get a good rest before he leaves. Heading up to your room, you crash on the bed and fall asleep, half convinced that you just dreamt of that whole encounter.

* * *

 

The next morning when you wake up, you have a headache and you don't want to do anything except for go back to sleep, but you know that you should shower and at least eat something first, so you drag yourself out of bed with much difficulty. After your shower, you're seated in the kitchen eating a slice of bread when you check your phone, and the first notification you see is a message from Minseok.

_You probably have a really bad hangover today... I heard that keeping hydrated and getting lots of rest will help. And also I don't really know about your breakup with your ex since you didn't really tell me about it and you're probably still heartbroken and getting over it now but if you want to talk about it you can always talk to me._

This is followed by _Or you know if you want to talk about anything at all.... no I shouldn't say this when you've just broken up with your boyfriend I'm sorry I should stop typing now_

You laugh at this despite the pain it gives you and type a reply back, telling him you'd like to meet again soon. He answers soon after and within minutes you have a date of sorts set up the next day. You put your phone down and take the last bite of your bread before getting up to go back to bed. Your Christmas Eve might not be spent well but your Christmas has definitely gotten a lot better.

 


	17. seventeen - namjin

**"you don't get to trample on my feelings like this!"**

 

* * *

 

 

"Hey hyung, can you hear me?" Seokjin squinted at the screen as he watched Namjoon fiddle with his phone, adjusting it so he could see Seokjin better. "Yeah I can, Facetime isn't that bad you know," Seokjin says mildly, lips quirking up into a small smile. Namjoon huffs at this, but stops adjusting the angle that he's holding his phone. "How's college? It must be overwhelming to live in dorms and get used to America. I still can't really believe you decided to study overseas, to be honest. But everything's okay, right?"

Seokjin sighs. It has been difficult trying to fit in and make friends, plus do all the homework - that's in English! - but he doesn't really want to talk about it with Namjoon. "It's alright, I'm mostly looking forward to going back to Korea in a few more days for Christmas break." Namjoon brightens at this, "Your flight's supposed to land at 5 p.m? I'll be there!" Seokjin smiles and nods. "But enough about me, how've things been for you, Joon?"

He listens as Namjoon talks excitedly about school, how it's somewhat hectic but it's still manageable. He wishes he was back in Korea already, even though Namjoon says that the cold freezes him right to the bone. America's great, but homesickness is always hard, especially when you're struggling with other things too.

Seokjin's thoughts are stopped when Namjoon asks, "By the way, hyung, did I tell you about Yunseo?" The name is unfamiliar, and Seokjin tilts his head as he tries to think of a time when a Yunseo was mentioned. "No... am I supposed to know who she is?" Namjoon grins and shakes his head. "Nope, but she asked me out on a date!" He continues talking, but Seokjin slowly tunes out. Yunseo asked him on a date... when they were together? Why was Namjoon so happy about it? Seokjin's head was beginning to hurt, and all he wanted was to crawl into bed and sleep.

Namjoon noticed how silent Seokjin was being, and he stopped talking about Yunseo to ask if Seokjin was fine. Hearing his name being mentioned, Seokjin looked at Namjoon's concerned expression through the screen and answered bluntly, "No. I'm not." Namjoon blinks in confusion as Seokjin continues to speak. "Why are you talking about Yunseo to me? Did you go out with her? Have you forgotten that I'm your boyfriend? Or maybe you don't care because I'm in America? You don't get to trample on my feelings like this!"

At the end of this rant, Seokjin finds himself choking up, full of tears and emotion, while Namjoon stares at him in shock. The atmosphere is slightly tense, and neither of them really know what to do. After a minute or so of silence, Namjoon finally clears his throat and speaks. "Jin hyung, I don't know what gave you the idea that I would go out with Yunseo but if you were listening to me, I said that I rejected her. I haven't forgotten that you're my boyfriend and I do care about you still. What's wrong? You don't usually speak like this."

Seokjin feels both relief and shame at Namjoon's words, and before he knows it warm, salty tears are sliding down his cheeks. He lifts a hand to wipe them away, and trying to stop his crying so he can talk, he says thickly, "I'm sorry, Joon. It's just... it's been tiring here. I really miss Korea. It's no excuse, but I won't lash out like this again. I'm really sorry." Namjoon's expression softens, and he speaks quietly. "It's okay, you just scared me a little back there. When you're back let's spend a lot of time together, alright? We've all missed you."

Seokjin sniffles and nods, drying the last of his tears. "Thank you for being so understanding." Namjoon smiles, "It's the least I can do. Come back quickly so we can celebrate Christmas together, winter's too cold without you here with me."


	18. eighteen - jongin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> note: i have posted this as a separate individual fic (it's the exact same thing) under the title of Stay With Me :-)

**"please don't leave me behind"**

 

* * *

 

It's nearly the end of November, the temperature has been dropping and you're struggling to keep warm with the one jacket you have on. It's not too much of a problem though, you're heading to a place where you always feel warm.

 

You push open the door to the dance studio and peer in cautiously, a small smile coming over your face as you spot your boyfriend Jongin resting at one corner. "I'm here!" He looks up when he hears your voice, and lifts an arm to wave you over.

 

You walk to where he's seated and drop your bag down before sitting next to him, noticing how tired he looks. "How was practice? Tiring?" Jongin nods, "There's only a week left till the performance... I'm scared I won't do a good job." In a week, Jongin has a recital and scouts from big companies will be there. You know how hard he's been working for this performance, you can see how much he wants to do well, but you want him to take care of himself too.

 

"You will. You've worked so hard for this, there's no way the audience won't see all the effort you've put in. Even if they hate it, I won't. I'll always be your biggest fan." You tell him seriously, placing your hands on his shoulders. Jongin smiles after hearing your speech and pulls you close for a hug. "Thank you for saying that. I think I should get back to practicing now, wait for me?" You nod and lean back against the wall, settling in to watch Jongin dance and give feedback.

 

All too soon, a week passes by and it's the night of Jongin's recital. You've bought flowers, you had to specially order them since lavender roses aren't common, but it's worth it since they're pretty and you like the meaning behind them - enchantment. The auditorium where the recital is held is entirely full, filled with friends and family of the performers as well as scouts. There's casual chatting going on, but the atmosphere's slightly tense, it's a very important day for the performers after all. You try to make yourself comfortable and make a quick wish that Jongin will do well today, and the performances begin.

 

They're all good. You don't know much about dance, but all the performers have passion poured into their every movement, and you find yourself enthralled, staring at them from the start of each performance to the end. You're not the only one who thinks this way, the rest of the audience is quiet and paying rapt attention to those on stage, and the only time there's sound is when a performance ends and everyone applauds. And then Jongin appears on stage.

 

You hear gasps from some girls around you, and you're not surprised. His makeup is done well and his body posture screams confident, there's no way anyone isn't focused on him. When the music starts, Jongin takes a deep breath, looking out at the audience, before he turns his gaze back to the floor to wait for his cue to begin. It's breathtaking; his movements are fluid and as you watch him, you find yourself feeling calm. Even when the music gets faster and so does his movements, that sense of peace can still be felt. You'd always known Jongin was a good dancer, but this performance was of an entirely different level. When the last notes of the music ring out in the auditorium and Jongin holds his pose for a couple of seconds before taking a bow, you get up to give him a round of applause, as does half the audience.

 

"That was amazing," you tell Jongin after the whole recital has ended and you find him backstage. You pass him the lavender roses and he accepts them gratefully, slinging an arm over your shoulder. "Was it? I'm glad. It felt good." He seems like he wants to talk more, but just then his instructor walks in with two women and men. They're all dressed smartly in suits and look very alert, despite it being nearly 10 p.m. "Jongin, got some time to spare? They'd like to talk to you." He gestures towards those standing behind him, and it's obvious that they're scouts. Jongin immediately walks over and all of them exit to find a quieter place to talk. Left with nothing to do except wait, you sit on a nearby chair and take your phone out to reply messages you hadn't been able to during the recital.

 

Jongin returns 15 minutes later looking excited. You stand up when you see him and ask, "How was it?" He grabs you by the waist and spins you around, catching you off guard and causing you to let out a scream. "They want me! Juilliard wants me!" It's great news, Juilliard is one of the best schools for dance and you're genuinely happy for him. "Congratulations! I knew you'd be able to do it." Jongin looks happy too, but his smile drops a bit, and he takes a breath before he speaks again. "There's something else though..."

 

They want him to go over during the winter recess to get used to the school and settle in before the spring semester begins. It's not a big thing, it's good for Jongin to get to look around first before the school year begins, but Jongin reveals what's bugging him. "Winter recess begins on December 23. I'll be missing celebrating Christmas and New Year with everyone here." It shouldn't be something to give Jongin reservations, but New York is far away and to have to leave for a completely new environment in half a month and miss celebrating Christmas and New Year with family and friends would make anyone hesitate. Even so, you smile at Jongin. "It'll be alright, we can Skype and text as often as we can. Juilliard is the chance of a lifetime! Everyone will understand." 

 

Jongin looks reassured by your words and takes your hand in his. "I can always count on you to say the right things to calm me down." You squeeze his hand and grin, barely feeling the weight that has settled in your chest.

* * *

As time passes and the time for Jongin to leave for New York nears, his time is spent either practicing or with some of his friends who want to say goodbye to him. He's been busy, but he tries to make time to see you whenever he can. When he's finally met up with all those who wanted to see him once before he left, there's one and a half weeks left, and if he's not dancing he's with you or his family. You go on dates at the amusement park and museum and have fun, but you like the days where the two of you just stay home and talk best. It's on one of these days when Jongin suddenly asks, "How will things be like when I'm in New York?"

 

You look over at him. He was sprawled on the couch just moments ago, but now he's sat up straight and making eye contact with you. You inadvertently straighten up too and ask, "What do you mean?" Jongin looks down at the floor, "I mean... we haven't talked about what'll happen to us. Are you okay with a long-distance relationship? I've read about it online and a lot of people say it's difficult..." You bite your lip. To be honest, you'd searched about long-distance relationships too and read about many stories where couples couldn't make it work, but you didn't want to break up with Jongin. "We can make it work, can't we?" Jongin looks relieved at this, "Yeah, we can. I just thought... it might be too difficult for you." You shake your head, "Why would it be? You're chasing your dream, I wouldn't think of doing anything to stop you from doing what you want to do." Jongin leans over to kiss you on the cheek, and you close your eyes for a moment, trying to lose yourself in the moment and ignore how the weight in your chest has gotten even heavier.

* * *

With only days left to Jongin's departure, you've just about moved into his house. No one seems to mind, you're basically part of the family by now, anyway. At night, you sleep in Jongin's bed next to him, cherishing the few nights you have left until you have to sleep alone all the way till May. On December 22, Jongin tells you to dress up nicely because he wants to bring you out for dinner. You go along with his instructions, and when you're waiting for him in his house, he arrives home out of breath in the clothes he wears to dance, before quickly disappearing upstairs for a shower and change of clothes. Within ten minutes, he's done, and he comes back downstairs with a blanket and picnic mat.

 

He leads you to the rooftop, and everything finally makes sense then. There's a picnic basket there on a table with warm sandwiches and potato salad. There's even dessert - brownies. It's very cold, what with it being the end of December, but Jongin's prepared extra jackets, heat packs and even hot drinks. The thought and care he's put into this makes you tear up, and you say thank you very quietly to Jongin, who just ruffles your hair and pulls out your chair for you.

 

Dinner goes well, and after that both of you sit on the picnic mat to look at the stars. Not many can be seen, but Jongin knows how much you like to look at the stars. You're touched by all that he's done for you, and you tell him, but he just shrugs. "It's nothing much. I want to do so much more for you, but we'll have to wait until May for that." And with that, you're reminded of how Jongin's about to leave.

 

Without any warning, tears well up in your eyes and spill down your cheeks. Jongin doesn't notice until you sniff and wipe your tears away, but when he does he immediately sits up and looks at you in concern. "What's wrong?" "Nothing's wrong... I just..." you choke out, not knowing what to say to him. The weight in your chest has never felt so heavy before, and you feel like you'll implode if you don't say something about it to him. "I think of you leaving and it feels so heavy inside. I know this is the best thing that could ever happen to you, and I'm really happy for you, and I know it's selfish of me to want you to stay but I really want to tell you... please don't leave me behind." You whisper, feeling more tears roll down your face. 

 

You can't look at Jongin, you feel too ashamed to. What kind of girlfriend are you, to want him not to follow his dreams but to stay by your side instead? But Jongin cups your face in his hands and forces you to look up at him. There's no trace of anger in his eyes, only sadness. "I don't want to leave you either. If I could, I'd bring you along with me, but that's not possible. But even when I'm in New York and you're here in Korea, I'll talk to you every day and Skype you so often it'll feel like I'm with you. You won't be lonely." You laugh despite yourself. "There's a 14 hour time difference, how is that going to work?" Jongin pulls you close to him and you relish the warmth you feel from him. "It will. We'll make it work. We can do it. Even if I have to stay up late just to talk to you I'm okay with that." You shake your head, "You shouldn't, it's fine, I'm just being very emotional."

 

Jongin frowns, "No you're not, it's okay to feel this way. And I'll wait as long as I have to until we get to talk at least once every day so you won't forget me." It's so sweet that you find yourself tearing up again, but Jongin just hugs you tighter and wipes your tears away. "Just be patient until May, okay? I'll be back in no time. Don't cry." You nod and dry your tears, and you and Jongin continue hugging as you look at the sky, waiting for the inevitable moment that Jongin has to let go and leave, but knowing without a doubt that he'll come back to you as soon as he can.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another note: juilliard doesn't have spring admissions, i twisted this a bit to fit the story. other than that though, the dates are accurate - i took them from the juilliard website.


	19. nineteen - yoonmin

**"i just thought i really loved you"**

 

* * *

 

Jimin was babysitting. It hadn't been his idea - he'd much rather laze around at home, but his mother's friend had needed someone to look after her five-year old son Junhyung and his mother had gladly volunteered him to help. "You should get out of the house and do something useful anyway," she'd reasoned as she cheerfully waved goodbye to Jimin while shoving him out of the house. He hadn't even had time to pack, let alone tell his mother why he didn't want to babysit anyone.

 

So here he was, standing outside Junhyung's house. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he stepped in front of the door and knocked. After a few seconds, the door swung open and he was met with a woman in her mid-forties who looked slightly frazzled. She was holding a tube of lipstick in one hand, the rest of her makeup done, and she was dressed in jeans and an expensive-looking sweater. "Hello Jimin! Sorry I don't look my best now, this client suddenly wanted to meet up and I had to change some plans. Thank you for agreeing to look after Junhyung, I wouldn't have known what to do otherwise." She speaks quickly as she steps back to allow Jimin into the house, and he steps in feeling somewhat overwhelmed. This feeling becomes stronger when he gets a good look at the house. The first word that comes to mind is luxurious - he's in a hallway leading into the house itself and it's decorated with abstract art and shoe racks and coat hangers which look more costly than the total price of decorating his room.

 

He doesn't get much time to continue looking around though, because he's being shepherded into the house and up the stairs to meet Junhyung. "You'll get along well with him, I think. He's just a little shy at first but he'll warm up to you in no time!" Jimin has no idea what to make of this, but he just steels himself for meeting Junhyung. When the door to his room is pushed open, Jimin sees the hugest room he's ever set eyes on. There are toys at one corner, a wooden table and a swivel chair in another, a violin and cello in the third and a closet in the last. In the middle of the room is what looks like a king sized bed, and Junhyung is sitting on it reading a book.

 

He looks up when he hears the door opening, and he makes eye contact with Jimin for a couple of seconds before quickly looking back at his book. His mother notices and says, "Junhyung, this is Jimin. He'll be looking after you today like I told you." Junhyung looks up again and nods once before biting his lip and going back to reading. His mother closes the door quietly and goes back downstairs, Jimin following behind her. "I'll be back around evening, latest 7 p.m. You'll be okay, right? I left money on the counter for lunch and I'll get dinner for him." Jimin stutters out a yes and satisfied with this answer, she goes back upstairs to finish getting ready to go out. Within five minutes, she's back downstairs and before she leaves, Junhyung comes down to give her a hug goodbye.

 

When it's just the two of them in the house, Junhyung looks at Jimin intently. It feels like he's trying to stare a hole through Jimin's head, and he laughs uncomfortably as he asks, "So... do you want to watch TV?" Junhyung gives him a half nod, and Jimin walks over to turn it on. The show that's on now is Pororo, and Junhyung sits on the opposite end of the sofa. The silence is slightly awkward, but Jimin can live with it. After fifteen minutes or so, Junhyung suddenly gets up and goes upstairs, leaving Jimin sitting in front of the television alone. He's not sure what to do, does he go upstairs too? But what if he wants to be alone? Jimin's panicking because he doesn't know how to interact with children and this was a terrible idea why did he go along with his mother's plan - until Junhyung comes back downstairs with two colouring books and some colour pencils. He passes one book to Jimin wordlessly and opens up the other to start colouring.

 

Slightly thrown by this change of events, Jimin decides to just colour too, and they pass the next hour colouring while listening to Pororo in the background. When it's almost 12.30 p.m, Junhyung sits up straight and tells Jimin in a soft voice, "Can we get lunch please?" It's the first time Jimin has heard Junhyung speak, and he's surprised by how polite he is. "Sure, what do you want to eat? We could order delivery or go out." Junhyung wants to go out and eat pizza, so after grabbing the money left on the counter and making sure he's dressed warmly, Jimin brings him out.

 

They walk along the streets in silence. Not many people are out, they're either working or hiding from the cold at home. At the pizza place, Junhyung whispers his order to Jimin and he orders for both of them, and as they sit at a booth eating, Jimin decides to make conversation with Junhyung. "How old are you?" Junhyung answers, "I'm seven." He looks more like five, but the mature air with which he carries himself makes him seem more like ten. It's confusing. Jimin then asks what Junhyung likes to do, and he finds out that Junhyung likes to play the piano and read. As they talk, time passes quickly, and when they're done eating it's already close to 2 p.m. When they leave the pizza place, Junhyung shyly tugs on Jimin's sleeve. "Jimin hyung, can we go to the park please?"

 

It's slightly strange because not many people would want to go to the park in winter, but they have time to kill, so they head to the park. Junhyung immediately goes towards the pond. Jimin walks behind slowly, looking around and appreciating the scenery. Just then, his phone buzzes with a message.

 

_**2:23 p.m. Yoongi:** where are you now?_

Jimin sends a reply that he's in the park and puts his phone away, jogging to catch up with Junhyung. They sit at a bench overlooking the frozen lake. Neither of them speak, but it's a comfortable silence. This silence is soon disturbed, however, by the sound of footsteps. When Jimin turns to look at who's approaching, he spots brown hair under a black beanie. It's Yoongi. He gets to his feet, and Junhyung looks over curiously. Yoongi plops himself down on the seat that Jimin vacated, turning to Junhyung. "Hey kid, wanna see a magic trick?" Junhyung looks confused but nods anyway, and Yoongi takes out a pack of cards from his pocket.

 

The trick is a simple one, but Junhyung looks amazed and within minutes, he's even more comfortable with Yoongi than he is with Jimin after hours. When Junhyung's distracted trying to perfect the trick that Yoongi taught him, Yoongi leans over to speak to him. "I didn't know you babysat." Jimin replies, "It's just a one time thing. I didn't know you were so good with children." Yoongi laughs, "It's a natural talent." Jimin watches as Junhyung runs over to Yoongi to perform the magic trick, and he looks delighted when he gets it right and Yoongi teaches him another one.

 

When he goes to the other bench to practice the new trick, Jimin whispers to Yoongi, "You know, I just thought I really loved you." Yoongi looks vaguely alarmed at this, "What's with the past tense?" Jimin smirks as he replies, "We're competitors for the title of Junhyung's favourite hyung. You're my enemy now." When Yoongi hears that, he laughs out loud and tells Jimin, "Game on." He then turns towards Junhyung and says, "Junhyung! Do you want to learn more card tricks?" Junhyung nods eagerly, and a sly smile appears on Yoongi's face. "You'll have to say that I'm your favourite hyung first though."

 

Jimin elbows him in the side, "That's cheating!" Yoongi clutches his side while laughing, "You didn't say there were any rules for this." Junhyung watches the both of them, and suddenly speaks, distracting the two from their conversation. "You're both my favourite hyungs!" He looks embarrassed after saying that, but Jimin and Yoongi are overjoyed. "Come here, Junhyung!" He walks over and lets out a squeak of surprise when he's pulled into a group hug with Yoongi and Jimin. "You can't escape from us ever again, Junhyung. You're our friend forever now."

* * *

The next day when Jimin's happily lazing on the couch at home, his mother calls from the kitchen, "Jimin! You're babysitting Junhyung again next week. He asked his mother to only have you babysit him from now on." Jimin feels a smile appear on his face, and he closes his Youtube screen to send a text to Yoongi.

 

_**11:37 a.m. Jimin:**  I won. Junhyung only wants me to babysit him from now on._

_**11:38 a.m. Yoongi:** that's not fair, he won't know who to ask if he wants me to babysit him._

_**11:38 a.m. Yoongi:** but if i were him id want you to babysit me too._

_**11:39 a.m. Yoongi:** we're not enemies anymore are we?_

_**11:39 a.m. Jimin:** We'd never be enemies for real, stupid._

_**11:40 a.m. Yoongi:** good. i just had to make sure._

_**11:41 a.m. Yoongi:** just remember i love u more than junhyung does._

Jimin flushes when he reads this and doesn't reply to the message, going back to Youtube. Even as he acts like he didn't read Yoongi's message, the smile on his face cannot be missed.


	20. twenty - jongdae

**“don’t make me say it!”**

 

* * *

 

Finals were around the corner and you were busy studying. There were many nights where you stayed up late to revise, and it was taking its toll on you. You were always tired and distancing yourself from your friends, and if you talked to them it was only about school-related topics.

 

You weren't the only one like this, of course, everyone else was also doing last-minute revision for exams, but the way you threw yourself into studying and neglecting everything else was worrying. Your parents had had to call you repeatedly to remind you to eat, and on weekends when you didn't have to go to school you'd spend the whole day holed up in your room.

 

One of these nights, you were in your room with flashcards and textbooks all around you. You were revising for your biology exam, but you couldn't seem to remember the functions of all the different parts of the heart no matter how hard you tried. It was frustrating because you'd been stuck on this for nearly an hour, and you decided to take a break for a few minutes.

 

You got up from your cluttered table and flopped down on the bed, taking a deep breath to try and calm yourself down. You were tired of studying endlessly like this, but your teachers had all said that the exams were going to be difficult and you were afraid of not doing well. You weren't the brightest student in class, but you tried to make up for it by studying as hard as you could. This clearly wasn't working out well.

 

A quick glance at the clock by your bedside tells you that it's only just past 8 p.m, but you're considering just going to sleep now and waking up early to continue revision. However, you know that you probably won't be able to get up early, so with a sigh you unwillingly peel yourself off the bed and walk back to your table.

* * *

Nearly half an hour later, you've still only memorized a few of the functions of the heart, and it's so exasperating that you feel tears well up in your eyes. You angrily wipe them away with your hand, and when you put your flashcards back down on the table you hear someone open the door.

 

You don't turn around, it's probably your mom and you don't want her to see you crying. But to your surprise, the person who had entered your room walked up to you and gave you a warm hug from the back. Your eyes widened as you looked back and saw your boyfriend Jongdae. "Why are you here?" You ask, and Jongdae smiles at you. "You weren't answering my texts, so I decided to come over and check on you. How's revision going?"

 

Against your will, you feel tears forming in your eyes again, and Jongdae's expression immediately changes to one of concern. "What's wrong?" You choke back a sob and shake your head, "It's nothing big, I'm just... not studying hard enough. I can't remember all the things I have to for biology." Jongdae frowns, "You've been studying harder than everyone else, I think you need a break." You shake your head again and tell him that you have to work harder if you want to do well, but Jongdae's frown becomes even bigger. "When was the last time you took a proper break?" When you shrug and say that you don't need a break because you're fine, he says in a warning tone, "Don't make me say it!"

 

You stare at him blankly and he lets out a sigh. "Don't put so much stress on yourself. You'll do fine, alright? Now come here." He pulls you to your feet and drags you back to your bed, where he wraps the both of you in your blanket. It's comfortable to cuddle with him like this, and you find yourself relaxing. Jongdae rests his chin on your head and asks sleepily, "See, don't you feel better already?" You grudgingly admit that you do, and Jongdae laughs childishly. "I told you you needed a break!" You roll your eyes but you don't argue, and after a few minutes of peaceful silence, Jongdae speaks again.

 

"What couldn't you remember anyway?" "What's in the heart and their functions," you reply, and you feel Jongdae smile. "That's easy, I can tell you what's in yours." The way he phrases his sentence, as though what's in your heart is different from everyone else's, has you moving away from him slightly to look at him in curiosity. The smile on his face turns into a huge grin as he announces, "It's me! And my function is to love you." You smack him on the arm, but you cuddle up against him again, as he stops joking around and pats you on the back gently, telling you to go to sleep and wake up refreshed to continue revision the next day.


	21. twenty-one - yoonseok

**“why are you staring at me”**

 

* * *

 

"Yoongi! Are you ready?" At the sound of Hoseok's impatient voice, Yoongi pokes his head out of his room. "Yeah, I just need to grab my bag." Hoseok rolls his eyes but there's a smile on his face. "You're always so slow, we're going to be late at this rate." Yoongi appears again with his bag slung over one shoulder and walks briskly towards the front door of their apartment. "No we won't, we still have half an hour to get there."

 

They end up being five minutes late because they had trouble getting a taxi, but the lesson hasn't started yet so all Hoseok does is give Yoongi a look. "Next time get ready earlier _please._ It isn't the first time we've been late for something." All Yoongi can do is give a sheepish grin in response,

 

And then a woman in her mid-thirties steps in front of the class and everyone quietens down. "Okay everyone, since it's just a week to Christmas now today we'll be making peppermint meringues!" There are mixed reactions to this - Hoseok's is one of delight, the teen girl a few seats away from Yoongi looks tired already, and Yoongi is just wondering how big of a mess he'll make today.

 

"The first step is to preheat your ovens to 110 degrees Celsius, and then line two cookie sheets with foil." This is easy enough to do, and within minutes it's time to move on to the next step. "Now, watch what I do carefully. You're supposed to take your mixing bowls and beat egg whites, salt and cream of tartar to soft peaks. While you do this, add sugar in bit by bit, until the egg whites form stiff peaks like this. Then drop them by spoonfuls on the cookie sheets and take the crushed peppermint candy and sprinkle them over the cookies." It looks simple when the instructor does it, but five minutes in Yoongi has egg white splattered on the table together with some salt. He looks at the mess wearily and wonders why he decided to sign up for this cooking class when he remembers it's because of Hoseok.

 

Hoseok is doing way better than Yoongi is, but then again he's always been the one more interested in cooking and baking. As the instructor walks around to check on everyone's progress, she stops for a moment to compliment Hoseok, and he gives her a wide grin of thanks. Yoongi looks on slightly bitterly as the instructor continues walking around the room and tells Yoongi that he has to work harder, and he decides to take a short break from making the meringues.

 

He sits down with a loud sigh, and some people look over at him but go back to their work immediately after. Hoseok on the other hand, is already done, and after wiping his counter clean he walks over to Yoongi's area. "Having trouble?" Yoongi sinks even lower in his seat and hides his face in the sleeves of his sweater, muttering a "Don't remind me of it." Hoseok laughs (and Yoongi can swear that he's blinded just for a moment) and tells Yoongi that he'll help, but he has to get up and do something too.

 

This is how they end up working together at Yoongi's counter, Hoseok mixing everything while Yoongi slowly adds the sugar in. It goes well, and the instructor merely raises an eyebrow when she sees Hoseok helping Yoongi but doesn't tell Yoongi to do it by himself, something she's done before. After they're done and the meringues are baking in the oven, Hoseok drags his chair over to Yoongi's counter and they sit together. "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Yoongi huffs, "Only to you."

 

They lapse into a comfortable silence, and Yoongi almost falls asleep to the smell of the baking meringues until he remembers that the last time he fell asleep the instructor made him stand for the whole lesson, and he opens his eyes quickly to see Hoseok staring at him.

 

"Why are you staring at me?" He asks slowly, and Hoseok's cheeks turn slightly pink. "It's just... I'm glad you signed up for this with me. Thank you." Now it's Yoongi's turn to feel embarrassed, and he replies gruffly, "It's fine. I'd sign up for anything with you." The last sentence was said without thinking, but it's worth the inner screaming he's doing when Hoseok's face lights up.

 

"What about dance then?"

 

Yoongi takes back all the nice, warm thoughts he was having about Hoseok immediately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> recipe for the peppermint meringues was taken from here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/9857/peppermint-meringues/?internalSource=staff%20pick&referringId=841&referringContentType=recipe%20hub&clickId=cardslot%208


	22. twenty-two - baekhyun

 

**"i just wanted you to be happy"**

 

* * *

 

It feels like all your life you've been waiting for something. Of course, it's not something that you focus on all the time, or wondering what you're waiting for will drive you insane. But it's a constant thought at the back of your mind that always stays with you, especially around this time when your friends are all getting together with people who make them happy and now that it's almost Christmas (the end of November is close enough to Christmas), you're left feeling quite lonely.

 

"I know a few guys who you might like, do you want to meet them?" Your friends all want you to get together with someone if you can, so that all of you can go out on group dates and have fun, and since you have no particular objection to meeting new people, you let yourself get set up on blind dates.

 

The first few are dry and boring - your friends seem to have quite a few friends who are only interested in themselves and how they can present themselves in the best light possible, both literally and figuratively for some. It's a major turn-off, especially when one of them wants you to change seats with him "because the lighting at your seat is better." Needless to say, you turn down his offer for a second date.

 

You've just about gotten tired of going on blind dates, when your friend promises you that this one will be the last one. "He's a nice guy, he was my senior in drama club, I really think you'll like him." So you agree, and prepare yourself for this hopefully last blind date.

 

You reach there just on time, and when you take a quick peer at your reflection in the window of the small cafe you're supposed to meet at to make sure you look alright before going in, you find yourself staring back into a pair of eyes. It surprises you, and you take a step back while pressing a hand to your chest. You stare at the window for a few moments, now too far away to see who it was by the window, before steeling yourself and walking in.

 

You're immediately greeted by the smell of baking pastries and hot chocolate, and you pause for a bit to take in the smell, a small smile appearing on your face, and then you look around the cafe to spot your blind date. It doesn't take long - there's only one guy who's sitting alone, and he's also lifting a hand to wave at you. You walk over and apologise to him for being late, but he just shrugs and says, "I should apologise too, for staring at you when you were on the other side of the window. I'm Baekhyun, by the way."

 

It's embarrassing to say the least to find out that your blind date scared you before you even formally met, but Baekhyun seems amused and after you introduce yourself to him, he tells you that he's already ordered some cake that the both of you can share if you want to. It's somewhat forward, but when you see that he's ordered red velvet cake you decide to just go ahead and share it with him. While the both of you eat, Baekhyun looks at you thoughtfully. "Before everything else, I think I should tell you first. I haven't gotten into any serious relationships and I don't think I plan to anytime soon."

 

You pause, your fork halfway to your mouth, and take a moment to absorb this. "Why did you agree to come for this blind date then?" Baekhyun looks at ease when he replies, "If you don't want something serious I figured we could try this for a while."

 

For the rest of the date Baekhyun's a gentleman. He tells you all about the interesting encounters he's had and his hobbies, but he also asks you what you like to do and about your job. It's pleasant, and as the date draws to an end you find yourself wishing you'll see him again. This leads to you telling him outside the cafe before you part ways, "Okay. Nothing serious. Let's try this for a bit." Baekhyun smiles and asks for your phone number and he calls you so that you both have each other's numbers, before turning to leave and promising that you'll see him again soon.

 

That night, you receive a text from Baekhyun.

 

_**10:37 p.m Baekhyun:** Do u want to go out tmr? We can go wherever u want to._

_  
_ You smile as you reply him with an okay and suggest going to the beach. He's game for it even though it's beginning to get colder since it's almost winter. That night you fall asleep feeling contented and looking forward to the next day.

 

* * *

 

 

The date at the beach went well, and soon enough you were going out with Baekhyun often. The both of you went ice-skating, strolling in the park and even went for paintball. You were having a lot of fun, and though it had only been a few weeks since you'd met Baekhyun, you were finding yourself thinking of him frequently. 

 

One day, you texted him to ask if he wanted to go out that evening to look at the decorations at the mall, but he didn't reply you. It was slightly strange since he usually replied quickly, but you decided not to think too much of it and just wait until he replied to set a day to go and look at the decorations.

 

A couple of days passed with no texts from Baekhyun, and that was when you started to worry. It seemed like he'd just disappeared with no warning whatsoever, and none of your (increasingly desperate) texts were being answered. You had no idea what was going on, but you just went on with life as normal, except that you were feeling the absence of Baekhyun very clearly.

 

Close to a week later, you had just about accepted the fact that Baekhyun was ignoring you when he texted.

 

_**11:24 p.m Baekhyun:** We should meet up._

You reply within seconds, telling him to choose where to meet, and this time Baekhyun replies quickly. You have a date the next day at the cafe the both of you first met in, and that night you go to sleep feeling somewhat uncertain about tomorrow.

 

* * *

 

 

This time, you're earlier than Baekhyun, and you take a seat at the same place to wait. You order chocolate cake this time, and right after the waitress leaves with your order Baekhyun walks in. You stand up so he can see you, and he immediately heads over. He sits down without saying anything and the both of you are wrapped in a tense silence. After a minute or so, Baekhyun finally decides to break it by clearing his throat and saying, "So." He pauses for a moment to think, and you take your chance to speak.

 

"Did anything happen to you? Why weren't you answering my texts?" Baekhyun lets out a long breath at this. "That was what I wanted to talk to you about, actually." You look at him in confusion. "Don't text me anymore."

 

You're not sure if you heard him correctly, but when he repeats it a second time, you ask him, "Why?" He looks uncomfortable, "We said nothing serious, right? And this... seems to be getting quite serious." You open your mouth to say something, but close it when you see someone walking towards your table. She's pretty, long wavy brown hair and about average height, but with amazing body proportions. She stops right in front of you, but she's looking at Baekhyun when she speaks. "Are you ready? You said five minutes, but it's been more than that."

 

You stare at Baekhyun, who looks flustered. "Yeah, I'll be done soon. Just wait outside for a bit more please?" She pouts, but goes outside, leaving the two of you alone again.

 

"So this is why? You got a new girlfriend?" Baekhyun hesitates. "I wouldn't call her a girlfriend. And we were never together anyway..." As cliche as it sounds, his words pierce through your heart, and you feel a lump in your throat. It's true, you were never officially together. You'd just assumed...

 

"Okay, I get it. I won't text you anymore." You get up quickly and leave the cafe, walking past that girl as fast as you can. You head home and go back to bed without even changing out of your clothes. You're too shocked to cry. But the more you think about it, the more you realise that what Baekhyun did wasn't wrong. You _had_ agreed to nothing serious, and though the dates had been frequent you hadn't been an official thing. You'd just taken it as the two of you were together.

 

And now you were left with two weeks to Christmas and you were... broken hearted. There was no other way to describe it. Because despite yourself, you'd fallen for Baekhyun and you'd wanted something serious. This was probably for the better though, he didn't want anyone to cling to him, so all you could do was just let him go and hope that he'd be happy.

 

* * *

 

 

The next week, you threw yourself into work and everything else you could to take your mind off Baekhyun. And it worked most of the time, until it was nighttime and you were tired but you couldn't fall asleep because all you could think of was Baekhyun.

 

It was now a few days left to Christmas, and all the decorations everywhere were so pretty. When you walked home after work, it made you wish you had someone to look at them with.

 

On one of the particularly long nights, you found yourself scrolling through old conversations with Baekhyun. It was comforting, and it felt like Baekhyun was still talking to you. The thought made your eyes begin to water, and you almost missed the notification that you had a new message. When you clicked on it, it brought you to the bottom of your conversation with Baekhyun.

 

_**02:41 a.m Baekhyun:** I'm starting to think i made a mistake._

You stare at it in disbelief. Were you just dreaming? But you pinched yourself and it hurt, so you were definitely awake. You decided to reply and ask him what he meant.

 

_**02:43 a.m Baekhyun:** I miss u_

_**02:43 a.m Baekhyun:** The other girl was nothing like u i kept thinking of u when i was with her_

And then he sends a photo. It's blur, but you can see quite a few empty cans of beer. He's probably drunk. You're trying to think of how to reply him when he sends yet another message.

 

_**02:45 a.m Baekhyun:** U looked so hurt when i said not to text you anymore_

_**02:46a.m Baekhyun:** Why did u just let me go with another girl?_

The tears in your eyes spill down your cheeks when you read this, and you type back with shaky hands, _I just wanted you to be happy._

_  
_ _**02:47 a.m Baekhyun:** But i'm not._

_**02:48 a.m Baekhyun:** Can u give me another chance?_

_  
_ You stare at his last message for a minute as you think about it. You know it's probably not a good idea, but you want to at least see him once more to talk things out, so you ask him to meet you in two days at the cafe.

 

_**02:51 a.m Baekhyun:** U want to meet me on christmas eve? sure... not like i have anyone who wants to go out with me anyway...._

_**02:51 a.m Baekhyun:** I'm sorry. u know that right?_

_  
_ You decide not to reply to this, and put your phone on your bedside table before you drift off into a uneasy sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

All too soon, it's Christmas Eve, and you're heading over to the cafe to meet with Baekhyun again. You walk there with a slight fear in your heart, not sure what Baekhyun will say to you this time. As you near the street where the cafe is, you see people who are walking from that direction talk to each other excitedly as they peer back. Curious, you walk a little faster, and when you finally see what it is that had other people talking, you stop right in the middle of the street.

 

Baekhyun is standing outside the cafe with balloons that spell out "I miss you". He doesn't seem concerned at how people are pointing and taking photos, just smiling. When he realises that you're standing a distance away and staring, he gives you a small smile and you remember that he's waiting for you.

 

You walk over slowly, and when you stop in front of him he hands you the balloons. "I haven't treated you well and I'm really sorry. But if you want to give me another chance, I'll make you happy. I promise."

 

You look at his eyes that are filled with sincerity and you know that you'll say yes even if he hadn't gotten the balloons or made any gesture like this. When you tell him, he grabs you into a tight hug, and you accidentally let go of some of the balloons. You apologise to Baekhyun quickly, but he just shrugs and says, "It's fine, they look pretty floating away and if you want I'll get you more balloons anytime."

 

They do look pretty, and when you look closely you notice that there are two balloons which floated away from each other at first but somehow found their way back to each other again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i might post this as an individual fic like i did with jongin's, i haven't really decided yet, but if i do i'll make sure to add a note both here and on that fic :-)


End file.
